Caribbean Blue
by Delirium's Child
Summary: Sequel to Baby Blue. A routine distraction job plunges Stephanie and Haley into a web of dreams and nightmares. NOT written in JE-style
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I still fail to own Janet Evanovich's marvelous creations. I am just borrowing them for a while but I promise I'll put them back where I found them, good as new. Even Ranger. Haley, Dom, the St. Louis Merry Men, Alec, and Deering are mine. But if you really feel the need you may borrow them. They don't bite... very often. .

Note: Thanks to everyone for all the support and help. Especially to Alexis, Military Goddess of the Babes! In case you are wondering, this is the sequel to Baby Blue. I split the two into separate stories.

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Caribbean Blue __

Sung by Enya

... Eurus...  
... Afer Ventus...

... so the world goes round and round  
with all you ever knew  
They say the sky high above  
is Caribbean blue...

... if every man says all he can,  
if every man is true,  
do I believe the sky above  
is Caribbean blue...

... Boreas...  
... Zephryus...

... if all you told was turned to gold,  
if all you dreamed were new,  
imagine sky high above  
in Caribbean blue...

... Eurus...  
Afer Ventus...  
... Boreas  
Zephryus...  
... Africus...

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Prologue

Several weeks had managed to pass without any major mishaps and absolutely no communication from Morelli. Since I was still ready to cuff him to the nearest shower stall and rip his heart out, that was probably a good thing. I probably would have been less violent toward him, but he had somehow managed to cost me the possibility of a Ranger-induced orgasm even after we were broken up. See, Ranger had volunteered to help keep me awake after I managed to get a concussion from being nailed by one of my cousin Haley's wicked aunts. I was thinking bed, Ranger, lots of sex. What I got was bed, Ranger, and a movie marathon. Not that I'm complaining exactly, but--.okay, hell yes I'm complaining.

Ranger told me he wasn't going to take advantage of someone with a head injury. He also said he doesn't do rebounds. Frankly, I don't think it counts as a rebound if you've been fantasizing about that person for months, but I wasn't about to tell him that. And head injury or none, I'd have to be more than dead to not want him to take advantage of me. Some opportunist, Ranger. When did crazed, self-professed _opportunist_ mercenaries turn into gentlemen? Did I miss a memo?

My name is Stephanie Plum, and I am a bitter ex-girlfriend. I'm also a bounty hunter, but the bitter ex-girlfriend gig gets more respect. On the more domestic front, I am mother to the world's most expressive hamster and sort-of babysitter slash roommate to my younger cousin Haley, whose arrival had been the last source of major excitement (read, pulse-pounding, gut wrenching terror) in my life. I had thought someone was trying to kill her to get to me, but it turned out they were after her and I was a convenient excuse, since I was possibly targeted for revenge from the Slayer street gang. In fact, it had lead to the disturbing realization that my family might actually be the normal branch of my family tree, adding yet another powerful argument for me to never have children.

Currently, however, all of this was in the back of my mind as I glared across the bedroom at Haley, who was smirking at me in an annoyingly superior way. Probably it wasn't as annoying or superior as I thought, but I was suffering from a very light hangover and she wasn't, so I was a teency bit bitter about that.

"Get over it, Stephie," she said smugly. "You and Ranger are meant to be." I raised my eyebrows and tried to look down my nose at her. This is a particularly snotty move and one that Haley has had mastered since about age three. I still haven't gotten the hang of it, apparently because her smirk became even more obvious.

"And how do you know this, oh wise one?" I asked coolly, fighting the urge to just go back to glaring at her.

"Because of your dad," she said sounding even more superior. I shook my head. I knew my thoughts were still foggy this morning from last night's margaritas and I was probably missing something. No more ladies' nights at Underground for me.

"Huh?" I muttered, still confused.

"Because of your dad," she repeated smugly. Ok. So I had heard her correctly. It still didn't explain what she had just said.

"Um, explain." I glared at her again.

"Well, we all fall for someone like our dad. And your dad doesn't talk, and he goes off and disappears for random amounts of time to go do stuff your mom doesn't know about..." she giggled. "And Ranger doesn't talk, and he disappears for random amounts of time doing mysterious things you don't know about..."

I had a sudden picture of Ranger sneaking off in a cab to play poker at the Elks with Tank and Bobby. I shuddered and grabbed the nearest weapon, which happened to be a pillow. I swung it at her and connected solidly. "You and your damned mental pictures."

"Ack! Stephanieeeeee!" She yelped, grabbing another pillow. It connected solidly with my shoulder and sent me reeling back.

"Take it back, Haley!" swing and thunk. Haley staggered back, raising her pillow in defense as I swung again.

"Never!" She blocked my pillow, and grabbed a second weapon. It bounced off my head.

"You are one dead pixie!"

"Hah! Better a dead pixie than a soft, spongy cupcake!" she taunted, skittering out of range and into the hallway. I followed and lunged at her, pillows flying.

"I am not a cupcake! I am Wonder Woman!" my first pillow smacked her in the ribs, eliciting a startled shriek, as her throw pillow hit my shoulder.

"Cupcake!" she yelled, laughing.

"Die, Tinkerbell!" I snarled, "or should I say... baby doll?" I added, my voice turning saccharine sweet. Haley's eyes narrowed, and she brought her pillows up into attack position.

"All right, pastry puff. Bring it!"

And the pillow fight was on, raging down the hall and into the living room where we barely avoided the piles of boxes, toppling over the sofa instead, still bashing away at each other. We were so busy trying to beat one another senseless, we barely noticed the feathers flying, and we sure as hell missed the entry of the heavily armed and highly amused commandos.

"Take it back, doll-face!" I growled, rolling Haley off me with a well-aimed pillow upside the head. Haley yelped and grabbed a bigger pillow for a shield as I followed it with another swing.

"Not gonna happen, pastry puff!" she drawled, her other hand bringing around another throw pillow, aiming for a neat hit to my side.

It was about this time that the masculine laughter finally registered with us. I looked toward the kitchen, dreading what I was certain I would see. Yep. I was right. Shit. Tank was leaning against the counter for support. And Ranger... oh my god, Ranger himself was collapsed into a kitchen chair laughing. I could feel the blush creeping up my face, and suddenly became very aware of the fact I was in a tank top and a pair of boy-cut briefs. Urgh, of all the ways to start the day...

I glanced down to see Haley peeking around the huge pillow she'd been using as a shield. Her face was as pink as mine felt, and she was keeping the pillow strategically placed to cover her own tank top and undies set. I looked back at the men in black and cringed. How long had they been there? Did I really want to know?

"I think I saw a porno like this once," Tank laughed. Looking insulted, Haley stood up to her full 5'1" height, carefully keeping the pillow in front of her, and raised an eyebrow. Christ, was I the only person on the planet who couldn't do that?

"Only one? You look like the kind of guy who's seen a lot more than that... " My eyes widened further and I cringed. I just don't consider baiting Tank the greatest idea. Maybe Haley felt the same, because she didn't give him time to make a comeback, instead choosing to make a hasty retreat back to the bedroom to get dressed.

"Any particular reason for this visit, guys?" I asked pointedly as the laughter died down. Not that Ranger and his guys were unwelcome, but I couldn't figure out what they would be doing here on a Saturday morning. I hadn't seen him or any of the others since they'd saved us from the big bad grannies in Pennsylvania.

"Just came by to help with the move, Babe," Ranger said, still smiling.

Oh yeah. Today was moving day. Duh. Haley must have knocked my brain loose with that last pillow. "Oh. Thanks..." the girl in question walked out of the hallway on cue, dressed in jeans and a tee. "Haley, wanna show the guys which boxes to take down? I'll be right out." And I made my escape into the sanctuary of the bedroom, leaving Haley to deal with the still-chortling Batman and Robin.

The move to the RangeMan building had only taken one trip since we weren't taking any furniture. My apartment had been decorated in early dorm room, really, so it wasn't like I was attached to any of it. Sadly the bulk of the cargo was clothes, shoes, and make-up. The biggest thing we had to worry about was the large flat-screen plasma TV that Haley had carted home a couple weeks earlier.

Actually, it wasn't such a bad idea after all, since it seemed to draw several Merry Men out of hiding when we opened the back of the Expedition. Like any other guy, they couldn't resist the siren song of a new gadget. With our newly acquired team of the large and scary variety we were installed in the apartment in less than two hours. These guys were nothing if not efficient.

Once everything was stashed in the living room and Haley was occupied with supervising Tank and Lester's attempted installation of the television, Ranger pulled me out into the hallway.

"Got a job for you, Babe," his said quietly, leaning back against the wall, his eyes sweeping over me. He was as clean and neat as when we had started, while I was rumpled, dusty, and sweaty. I swear, one day I'm going to look up 'cool' in the dictionary and his picture is going to be plastered next to it. And it's going to cross reference 'mysterious.' Apparently he was able to read my thoughts because his lips curved up a little in his usual half-smile. I sighed and tried to focus on the current topic.

"What's the job?"

"Decoy work. We need you to keep the guy occupied while we get his car." Hm, I'd heard this set up before, although not since the first time I played decoy. Sounded refreshingly less dangerous than usual.

"Sounds good to me. What role do I dress for?"

"Doesn't matter. Maybe you should try that group sex line on him. The guys are dying to hear that one again." Yikes! And just when I thought they hadn't noticed that... Oh, who was I kidding? They never missed anything, let alone something that choice. "I'll pick you up at six tomorrow." He tucked a curl behind my ear and looked at me for a second with a completely unreadable expression, but before I could mention it there was a roar from either an angry pit bull or one of the guys.

"I told you that wire was hot!" Lester howled with laughter. There was a hostile rumble that could only have come from Tank.

"Someone should go referee them," I said, looking at the door nervously. A moment later Haley's head popped out and she focused on Ranger.

"I think you better get in here, or send one of the others. I am not breaking those two up, and I'm not being held responsible if they force me to stun them." With that she disappeared back into the war zone. I heard Ranger sigh, then I was getting swept along with him back into my new home. Tank and Lester were sniping at one another in Spanish, and Haley was sorting through a box in the kitchen area. I let Ranger deal with the two bears.

"Problems, Pix?"

"I can't find the extra stun gun," she growled, tossing a couple boxes of bullets onto the counter. I glanced back to see the three guys working on the entertainment system again, this time with no dangerous mutterings, and mainly in English again.

"Looks like the problem is solved."

"Huh. Have they read the directions yet?" I looked around, but no paper was in evidence.

"Doesn't look like it…"

"Then you're sure you don't want me to find the stun gun?" I looked back at her and sighed.

"Good point." I grabbed another box and started searching. Probably if they got into a brawl we'd need more than a stun gun, but at least it was something.


	2. Chapter 1 Gearing up

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Chapter 1

It's now been exactly two weeks since we moved into the RangeMan building, and our entertainment system and TV have been working for one of them. Thankfully no stun guns were involved. I had gone on several jobs with the boys, mostly surveillance and one redecorating gig (Ranger had had to talk me into that one, but of course he managed it), as well as my usual skips from Vinnie. It was a pretty decent living with more regular paychecks and Haley paying half the rent and apartment bills, so I was in the clear for once even with my car payment. What better way to celebrate than a shopping spree?

Mary Lou was unavailable because the kids were sick with a nasty case of the flu, and Lula was making another attempt at night classes, so it left Haley, Sally, and me. Somehow he had become Haley's chosen shopping partner, tied with Lula of course. I was just thankful she hadn't actually dyed her hair blue yet.

Unfortunately we'd only made it out of Macy's and into the rest of the mall when I caught sight of Victor Reilly, disorderly drunken goat lover, sipping an Orange Julius in the food court. Shit.

"Um, guys, I see one of my skips," I said, staring hard to make sure it was him.

"Fuckin' A Steph, go get him!" Sally insisted.

"Will you guys be okay?"

"Sure, Steph," Haley said, her eyes all but shining with excitement. "Do you need, like, back up or anything?"

"No! No back up!" Christ, that would be the day. My mother would kill me! "Just stay here with Sally." I looked at him sharply. "Keep an eye on her."

Sally saluted. "No worries, I'll keep Mini-Me cool." Haley glared at him.

"I am not Mini-Me! Pixie, Hale, or even Short stuff, but not Mini-Me! I hate Austin Powers!"

Leaving Haley to repeat the almost weekly argument with Sally, I discreetly dug through my purse until I found my cuffs and stun gun, then approached the food court. "Mr. Reilly?" I called "Mr. Reilly?" he looked up from his Orange Julius to stare at me.

"Who wants to know?" he asked, slowly raking his eyes over me. Ew. I needed a shower now. I'd just been eyeballed by a scrawny oily fifty-something. Although looking at him up close, I realized why Vinnie bonded him out- this was Vinnie in twenty years. Same ferret-like body and twitchy eyes, same polyester suit. Hell, I bet this guy even had a duck pond... ew. Oh my god, I can't believe I just thought that...

"Mr. Reilly, My name is Stephanie Plum and I really need to talk to you in private," I said forcing a smile onto my face. "Maybe outside?"

Reilly wiggled his eyebrows. "Really, hotcakes? What about?"

I leaned closer, thankful I'd worn a V-neck and a wonderbra today. It was going to make this so much easier. "I have heard a lot about you Mr. Reilly," I whispered. "But any... details we should really keep private, don't you think?" He was too busy staring at my chest to hear a word I'd just said.

"Sure, hotcakes. Let's go outside, whatever you want..."

I blessed whatever wonderful person invented the Wonderbra about 5000 times as we walked toward Big Blue in the parking lot. I paused, as if searching my purse for my keys, letting Reilly get a step ahead of me. Pulling out my cuffs, I stepped up to him and slapped the first on his wrist.

"Aw, fuck!" He yelped. "You ain't one o' those kinky broads are ya? Shit, I don't do that bondage shit! Lemme go!" He started waving his other arm wildly.

"Mr. Reilly, I'm from you bail bonding company!" I yelled, and ducked. "I need to take you in to get your court date rescheduled."

"You'll never take me alive!" He yelled, waving his free arm just as wildly and trying to spin away from me. He lost his balance and fell back onto me, his elbow catching me on the cheek, barely missing my eye. I yelled in pain and shock as I toppled over, landing hard on the pavement. Shit. I always end up rolling around on the ground with ugly smelly men.

I caught another elbow to my face. "Get off me!" I yelled and did what any good Burg girl would do: I brough my knee up as hard as I could, straight into Reilly's goat loving groin. It was his turn to shriek and roll up into a fetal position. I stood up, feeling shaky, and grabbed my stun gun out of my purse.

Calmly as I could I knelt next to Reilly and gave him a solid jolt to the neck. He passed out with a final squeak. I rolled him onto his stomach and finished cuffing him. "There, was that really so hard?" I asked him, barely resisting the urge to kick him in the ribs.

Now I had a real problem: How to get him into my Escape? As I stood looking from my drunk, stunned FTA to my car, I was caught off guard by the arrival of my cousin and Sally.

"That was awesome, Steph!" Haley gushed. "You're really good!" I blushed. She thought I was good...

"I just got lucky," I protested. "And how can you say I am good? Didn't you see me get beaten up by a half drunk goat lover?"

"You are too fudging hard on yourself," Sally said severely. Haley nodded in agreement.

"Steph, you didn't get beat up," she said seriously, tugging me closer to examine the bruises. "You got a black eye and a couple scrapes from the pavement. Getting beaten up entails a lot more blood and serious damage. You've taken worse abuse trying to cook." I hung my head in shame. One lousy time getting my hair caught in the mixer and my entire extended family will never forget it. I cleared my throat and decided a change of subject was in order.

"Well, I have to take him in to the station. Are you done shopping?"

"Not really," Haley said, looking desolate.

"Yeah. We need to find some finishing touches for her new outfit. She's going to slay them," Sally told me.

"Hey! You go on and we'll get a cab to Aunt Ellen's house!" Haley suggested. "I've never taken a cab before. Maybe we could even use Uncle Frank's?" she sounded so happy that I really hated to disillusion her about the glamour of riding a cab, so I decided to let reality do the hard work. Apparently Sally agreed.

"Sounds like a plan to me," he said.

"All right," I said, looking nervously from Haley to Sally.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of her like she was one of the little dudes." Considering he carried an uzi to protect the little dudes, that was good enough for me.

"Help me get him into the car, please," I said and grabbed Reilly's shoulders to begin dragging him. It took a few minutes and a few banged elbows, but we finally managed to load Reilly into the car and I headed off to the police station.

The station was blissfully uneventful. No Morelli, no Carl or Big Dog, not even Eddie Gazarra. I took my check from the new desk sargeant and hurried out, unwilling to try my unexpected good fortune. I smiled to myself as I climbed back into Blue Jr, and turned toward my parents' house. My happy mood lasted right up until I saw who was parked at the curb outside mom and dad's.

The Kloughn car. Poor Haley, she'd managed to avoid any prolonged contact with Val and her brood since she'd gotten here, but it looked like her luck had finally run out.

I loved Val, since she was my sister and I had to. Haley was terrified of her, and combined with Albert aka Snuggyuggems, Lisa the unhappiest baby in history, Angie the 9-year-old school marm, and Mary Alice the horse, my cousin was probably having a break down. I almost had a breakdown when everyone was together, and I was used to it.

My system nearly went into shock when I stepped into the house to find relative silence. Relative to the normal chaos that is: Lisa was screaming her head off, Albert was chattering anxiously, Dad was blaring CNN. But there weren't any galloping noises, and I didn't hear mom breaking any dishes.

"Hi, everyone!" I called in cautiously.

Dad actually looked up from the weather channel. "Hi, pumpkin." Well, at least one of my parents hadn't been attacked by Pod People. I rushed over to Dad's chair and gave him a huge hug. It had been years since I had done that, but he deserved it.

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Daddy."

He patted me awkwardly, coughed and shook his head, looking a little lost. Maybe he was thinking I was a Pod Person too. He looked like he might say something else, but Mom swooped out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Oh, baby!" She gushed and I found myself being hugged. My mother didn't hug. We didn't show affection. I felt faint. Maybe I should have checked the basement for pods after all. She held me at arm's length, studying me.

"Are you alright? Do you need someone to talk to? What happened to your face?"

"No, Mom. I'm fine, I swear. I just got an elbow to the eye." Mom opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again with a long-suffering sigh.

Pod people really had taken my mother.

"Steph!" Val's voice squeaked from somewhere nearby. I looked up warily. Even after Lisa's birth, my sister's mood swings were fearful things, and I had been putting off talking to her ever since news of my final nasty break-up with Morelli surfaced. Thankfully the Burg grapevine had stayed silent on my act of vengeance, although Haley had volunteered to take the rap for it if it ever came up.

"Hey," I ventured.

"Morelli is scum," Val said decisively. "A good thing you didn't marry him. Maybe you ought to try going out with that Ranger guy."

"Uhh... Ranger doesn't do-" I caught myself in the nick of time. "Ranger doesn't date."

"You'll need a new date for the wedding, now," she added, then looked a little panicked. "You are going to bring a date? It's ok if you want to bring a girl. Being a lesbian isn't so bad, really." I stared and it took me a while to think of something to say.

"Valerie!" my mother scolded, beating me to it. "Stephanie is not a lesbian...." Then she turned back to me. "Your sister is right though. What about that nice bounty hunter? Of course he dates. Everyone dates, you probably haven't even mentioned it to him." Mom fixed me with an accusatory glance, as if asking why I hadn't gotten Ranger into a date yet.

I was stunned. Beyond stunned. I was feeling light-headed. Ranger used to be unmentionable, a crazed mercenary gun running, bounty hunting Cuban. Now he was 'that nice bounty hunter.' Maybe that Twilight Zone theory was closer than I thought.

"Look, I know Ranger, Mom. He doesn't date, ok?" My mom hit me with the armor-piercing, heat-seeking stare.

"You're living with him!" she protested after a moment. "You're living with him and you aren't even dating?" She crossed herself and looked around me to the kitchen cupboard.

"I'm not living with him! I'm living with Haley, in the RangeMan building."

"Well it's a good thing your cousin's there," Mom said, looking a little calmer. "I don't know what people would say otherwise…"

"Are you talking about that bounty hunter with the nice package?" Grandma asked as she came in from the kitchen. I stared at her blankly. Today she was in a blue velour jogging suit, and her hair was a matching shade. "I always liked him better than that cop with the nice buns" she told me severely. "Sometimes I really worry about your taste in men, Stephanie."

I looked at the floor. Well, I guess this was better than getting pushed to go back to him.

"Dinner's almost ready. Stephanie, why don't you go out back and round up your nieces and cousin," Mom said, apparently taking mercy on me.

I nodded, grateful for the escape, and practically ran through the back door. My earlier fears about Haley's sanity hit me again when I saw the scene before me.

Mary Alice was galloping around and neighing loudly, with Haley and Angie chasing after her. Angie even had a crown of what looked suspiciously like some of Mrs. Pagliani's daisies, and was wearing a long white dress I didn't remember seeing before. Haley was also wearing white- a long white skirt and a loose, embroidered white shirt that looked like an antique undergarment. Finally Angie collapsed under one of the scraggly, struggling trees in the corner, and Haley hung back, as if waiting.

Mary Alice turned, cantered back to her sister, and sat down next to her.

Haley produced a sheet from somewhere, and sprung. Within a few moments she and Angie had captured a shrieking, giggling Mary Alice in their trap. I wasn't sure what the hell I had just seen.

"Hey! Dinner's ready, girls!" I yelled. No response. "Dinner!" I yelled louder. Haley and Angie gave me identically put out faces, but they stood up. Angie began dusting herself off while Haley unwrapped Mary Alice.

Haley grabbed one of Angie's hands, and one of Mary Alice's and the trio skipped up to the back steps.

"As the Queen commands, so have we come," Angie intoned solemnly, and gave me a curtsy. Mary Alice bowed. Haley inclined her head Ranger-style. I stared at them blankly, throwing more weight behind my Pod People ideas.

"Um... better go get washed up, girls," I said.

"Do I have to change?" Angie asked Haley anxiously. My cousin laughed and straightened the daisy crown on Angie's head.

"Of course not."

"Can we finish tomorrow, Haley?" Mary Alice asked, looking worried. "I didn't even get to answer the riddles!"

"Not tomorrow, girls. I have to work, but the day after, okay?" Haley said gently. "It will give us all more time to practice our lines."

Mary Alice pranced past me happily, Angie trailing her at a much more dignified pace.

"I didn't know horses answered riddles," I said, a little dazed.

"Mary Alice isn't just some common horse!" Angie turned and regarded me with all the haughtiness a 9-year-old can muster. "She's a unicorn."

Right. Of course. I raised my eyebrows at Haley.

"Did you know that Angie reads fantasy novels?" she replied to my unspoken question. "She really has one hell of an imagination hidden in there. I think she needs a little less time with her mother."

"So, what were you doing in the backyard exactly?"

"A unicorn hunt," Haley responded calmly, and pulled a Coke out of the fridge. "Together, those girls make an even better game than Dom and I used to."

Angie had an imagination, Mary Alice was a unicorn, and Haley was playing pretend. I really needed to check the basement.

"Thought you didn't like kids?" I asked as we headed into the kitchen, Haley pulling her own daisy crown out of her hair.

"I don't usually. But they were better than dealing with that clown dog or - Val!" Haley turned as my sister entered the room and pasted a smiled on her face, like she was delighted Val had joined us. "Do you think I could pull off that shade of blond?" she asked, gesturing to Val's blond Meg Ryan 'do.

Val eyed her critically. "No. You would probably look like Stephanie did with blond hair. Apparently it was very Art Garfunkel."

"What's an Art Garfunkel?" Haley looked at us, puzzled.

I winced. Sometimes Haley made me feel really old.

"I still think Stephanie needs to hook up with that Ranger fellow," Grandma said to no one in particular as she took the chair beside Haley. "You two girls have all the luck. Two handsome soldier boys to help you get over those horse's behinds."

"Now Aunt Edna," Haley laughed. "How do you know Dom's handsome?"

"Isn't he?" Grandma looked at her sharply. Haley blushed a little.

"Yeah. Actually he's a real hottie."

"I knew it," she cackled. "Of course some of those young men that work for Ranger ain't so bad either. And I hear that club you work at has a mighty fine bouncer."

"Why don't you come by some night and see for yourself?" Haley suggested. I cringed and glared at Haley. Grandma didn't need any encouragement, and I wasn't sure how many people she might zap or shoot.

"I might have to do that," Grandma said, sounding thoughtful. Dad muttered something into his drink.

Fortunately Mom produced the main course, and everyone was too busy shoveling food into their mouths for much conversation.

It was a couple hours later before we climbed into the Escape. I still halfway thought there were Pods in the basement but I wasn't so sure that I didn't like the Pod Family a little better. No more guilt trips about Morelli or gripes about my job. It wasn't such a bad exchange.

I smiled again as I eased the car away from the curb and headed home, Haley nodding off in the passenger seat.

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Less than twenty-four hours later I was wishing I had beaten Reilly to a bloody pulp. A Technicolor bruise with spectacular swelling covered my left eye, continuing out onto my cheek and my lower lip had been split right down the middle, ensuring there was no way I would distract anyone from anything. Unless it was in a freak show sort of way. I slumped on the couch and put my head in my hands. So much for that paycheck.

"Cheer up, Stephie," Haley said, sitting down beside me. "It's not that bad."

"Oh please," I scoffed. "Would you pick me up at a bar?" She tilted her head and examined me, apparently weighing her options. Her blue eyes narrowed a little in thought before she spoke.

"If were weren't related, I was a lesbian, and I was a little drunk, and we were under the right lighting..." I frowned and threw the first thing handy at her, which happened to be a fluffy white teddy bear that had appeared one night when she'd first arrived. Hm, I kept meaning to ask about that thing…

"Not helping, chica," I said out loud, my thoughts still on the teddy bear.

"Well, how about I do it? I'll hand the check over to you, and in return you talk to my mom next time she calls." She smiled brightly, like this was the most obvious idea in the world. I blanched. Haley's mother was Grandma Bella in training. Minus the evil eye.

"Come on, Stephie," she persisted. "You said it isn't even a dangerous one. Just some stupid dead beat dad."

"No."

"I can take care of myself!" Haley fumed.

"It's not that. I'm scared of your mother. She'll torture me."

"She's thousands of miles away. It's just a phone call. It's the phone call or no pay check."

"Wait a sec! You want to do this..."

"Yes. But I'm helping you avoid feeling indebted to me." She had a point. I still maintained that dealing with Marie Thorne-McAllister was a lot to ask, but it meant I got a nice amount of money...

"Tell me where you got the teddy bear," I demanded. "And then you can do the job and I'll talk to your mom." To my surprise, Haley didn't look thrilled with this idea.

"You recommend me to Ranger, and if I get the job, I'll tell you afterward." This sparked my interest further.

"Why don't you want to tell me about the bear?"

"Just take it or leave it, Steph." She ambled over to the kitchen and picked up a nail file. "Your call."

Forty-five minutes later I called Ranger.

"Talk," he said.

"Hey, Ranger," I used my cheeriest voice, pretending he'd said something a little more gracious. "About that job tonight... Um, there's a little kink in the plan." A beat of silence followed.

"Explain?" his voice was tense. Wow, wasn't he just doing a chatty Cathy impersonation.

"I got Victor Reilly yesterday, but I'm kind of... I'm definitely in no shape for distracting anyone."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Just took a couple hits to the face. Split lip, black eye," I laughed a little. "You know, the usual."

"He hit you?" Was it my imagination or did Ranger sound a little less than pleased? And since when did he bother asking whether the skip hit me- they always hit me. Well, almost always. Usually it was just with food, though.

"He was drunk, and waving his arms around and we fell down. I think he was trying to get up." Not that I was defending Reilly, but I was a little worried he might end up dead or maimed. The vibes I was getting off Ranger's non-chatty phone voice was making me think of violent tendencies. Maybe he'd just gotten out of a meeting with an IRS guy.

"We'll find someone else for the job," he said finally. I nervously cleared my throat and did the old mental knuckle crack.

"Actually, I already have a stand-in, if you're okay with it. Haley isn't working tonight and I know she could handle it." Right. The only thing I knew was that she had a mean left hook and had a freakish lack of fear when it came to Ranger and the Merry Men. It might improve her flirting awareness though, which was a hidden plus. Ranger was quiet for a moment. If I hadn't heard his breathing, I might have thought he had hung up.

"I'll be there at eight." And he was gone.

Haley looked at me expectantly, feet bouncing, eyes wide in anticipation. I cleared my throat and tried not to hear my mother's voice in my head. "He said he'd be here at eight."

"YES!" she squeaked and tackled me in an excited hug. Just as I was managing to recover from the shock, she jumped up and pulled my arm with her. "What do I wear? How do you do this? Let's get started!"

I really wasn't sure about this. There's a fine line between Burg Girl Hot and Hooker, so I was used to teased hair and tiny skirts. I didn't think Haley could pull off the look. Oh, I could put the make up on her and we could do her hair and put her in a slutty wardrobe, but I really didn't see it working. Some girls can do slutty, but some just come off cheesy. It was worth a try, though. If all else failed we could probably stick her in some sort of Britney Spears schoolgirl outfit. That would probably work miracles, if the guy was a pedophile. Any way you looked at it, this could be a challenge.

I let my grin match hers, and I took the lead to drag her to my closet.

The first problem hit with the discovery that Haley was about two sizes smaller than me, and her feet were size 5. I was feeling desperate, pawing through my clothes and hoping to find one of my 'skinny outfits', You know, the ones that you buy in hopes the new diet works, but never actually get to wear?

While I was occupied, Haley was rifling through her own clothing. "Would this work?" she asked, holding up what looked like a scrap of black and blue spandex. How she had even come to possess spandex was beyond me. Out of sheer curiosity, I took it and unfolded it.

It was a dress. Well, it was supposed to pass as one, anyway. Black spandex printed with electric blue lightning, and trimmed in blue. There was a tiny amount of fabric to cover the boobs, another scrap that attempted to cover the bottom areas, and a strip of material down the front to connect the two. "Shoes?" I asked her.

She produced a pair of sleek knee high black boots with four-inch heels. There might be hope for this operation yet.

As I worked on her make-up, my curiosity got the better of me. "Where on earth did you get that dress?" I asked her. Haley blushed.

"I, um, I lost a bet."

I waited for a minute, putting the finishing touches on her eye shadow. When it became apparent she wasn't volunteering more, I pursued it anyway. "A bet? What kind of bet? You can't just leave me hanging with something like that!"

"Oh, I don't remember what it was over. It was with Dom, so the payment was I had to let him pick out an outfit and I had to wear it out on a date with him."

"You actually did it?" I was amazed.

"Yeah. I did, but we went to a bar in the city so it fit in." She laughed at the memory. "Dom didn't think I'd do it either. We didn't stay long because he said he didn't want to spend all night in fighting off the guys." She shrugged. "Whatever. Seriously, no one even looked twice at me."

I reserved my opinion about that and stepped back to inspect my handiwork. Well, she definitely didn't look twelve. Thanks to Max Factor and some heavy eye make up she looked like a seventeen-year-old with a fake ID. Now to see what Batman and the Justice League had to say. I let her handle her own hair, although I told her to go for at least a little volume, not Paris Hilton flat. While she finished that chore, I picked up the front room. Ella did it every day but I was still uncomfortable letting someone clean up my mess.

I was so shocked to hear the knock on the door at eight o'clock that I dropped a grape onto Rex's head. He squeaked and made a mad dash for his soup can. "Sorry," I whispered and went to check the peephole. The A-Team was outside, Ranger included.

"Hey guys!" I said as I opened the door. "Come on in!"

"Jesus, Steph," Bobby swore. "What did you do to your face?" I faked a pout, although I was careful not to move the lip too much. Nothing like reopening a lip wound for annoying ouch-factors.

"Just trying out a new look. You don't like it?" Bobby shook his head.

"Purple ain't your color, girl."

"So who got you?" Tank rumbled.

"Vinnie's long lost soul mate, who was too drunk to stand up and wound up knocking me down."

"Vinnie has a soul?" Lester asked, looking amused.

"Well, not that I'm aware of, but this guy is definitely a match for him. Except he prefers goats to ducks." Watching that idea sink into their minds was a priceless moment. I was beginning to like Haley's tactic of horrendous mental imagery.

"Babe," Ranger sighed, shaking his head.

"Where's Haley?" Lester asked, looking down the hall.

"Putting on the finishing touches," I said with a grin.

"You sure she's up to this?" Ranger asked, his face serious. I met his eyes and nodded. I had decided that if she could handle Tank and the boys, she could probably handle a lot more than I gave her credit for.

"As sure a I am of myself- more actually. But so help me, if you tell her about the sex night line..." I glared at him and the guys started laughing.

"That was a hell of a distraction though," Tank said in admiration. "Distracted the hell out of the guys in the control room."

I was going to ask him to clarify that remark when I heard the bedroom door open. I watched the boys' faces as Haley walked out, and wished like hell I had a camera. The Three Amigos' jaws were on the floor and even Ranger looked a little stunned. I coughed, trying to cover my laughter.

"Is it too much?" Haley asked, sounding unsure and a little worried. I shook my head, wondering if that's what I looked like in some of my distraction get up. God I hope so, because she had morphed from Abercrombie Girl to sex in boots.

The so-called dress clung like a second skin, and the lightening print somehow emphasized all the right curves, drawing the eye down her body. Her hair was straightened so it hung partway down her back and with the several pounds of makeup, a wonder bra, and the fuck me boots she looked like a porn star. And judging by the looks the Merry Men were locking on her, she was going to be distracting a lot more than the skip. I motioned for her to spin around. With her hair covering the top of the dress, it gave the impression from the back that she was wearing only the tiny swath of material attempting to cover her butt and the boots.

"Where are we going to put the wire?" Bobby wondered out loud. Ranger shot him a look then turned his attention to Haley.

"Did Stephanie brief you on this?" he asked. She nodded and ran a hand nervously through her straight hair to push it off her face. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the way Tank and Lester's eyes were threatening to pop out of their heads. It couldn't have been any worse of they'd started panting.

"She said we're going to a bar, and you guys will be getting the guy's car while I keep him inside..." Her voice held only a trace of the nerves I knew she was feeling. I'd been there my first time, and I had had considerably more clothes on.

"You'll have a wire, and if you have any trouble one of us will come get you out," Ranger told her. Haley nodded and stood a little taller as she gathered her nerves.

"Let's go," she said, grabbing her black mini trench coat. "I'll see you later, Stephie!" she added with a shaky smile.

"You'll be fine, Super Girl," I said with my best encouraging grin. Her smile widened and steadied.

"Damn skippy," she said with a toss of her hair, then she turned and sashayed out the door. In boots like that, there wasn't much you could do but sashay or strut, and I didn't think strutting was in her repertoire yet.

I watched her leave with Tank. Lester and Bobby close on their heels. I turned to look at Ranger, who was standing very close, almost touching me but not quite. Without realizing what I was doing I reached out and wrapped my arms around his waist. "Try not to get shot," I whispered, laying my head against his shoulder.

His arms held me tightly, and I heard the smile in his voice. "Not much chance of that tonight Babe. " He kissed the top of my head. "Try not to worry too much."

Reluctantly, I let him go and wandered back to the t.v. This time it was a _Lost In Space_ retrospective. I needed one of those robots. It would be nice to have someone to tell me: "Danger, Stephanie, Danger!" Then again, considering my life, maybe it wouldn't. The stupid thing would probably never shut up.


	3. Chapter 2: Distractions

****

Chapter 2

I fell asleep and dreamed of space age robots chasing me around telling me everything was too dangerous. Somehow they had started to sound like my mother, when the ringing started.

I struggled to wake up. What the-- oh, the intercom was buzzing. I stumbled across the room and pushed the button to answer it. "Hello?"

"Ms. Plum?" Louis Guzman's gruff voice shook me more into waking up mode. "Ms. Thorne has a visitor." I blinked, trying to think who it could be. She hadn't mentioned anyone, and I was pretty sure she would have said something if Dom or Quinn were going to be in town. "He says his name is Alec Masters."

I frowned at that. Why would Alec be here, I wondered. He was probably planning on groveling and begging forgiveness. Probably I should just tell Louis to get rid of him… but I had never seen even a picture of him. I was curious to know what the slimy little worm looked like, and I admit I had half a mind to go down there and beat his ass. Now, I know what the mature and adult thing to do would be. I really do, but I'm Hungarian. We don't do mature adult things. We do impetuous, brave, silly things.

"I'll be right down, Louis. Just have him sit tight. Thanks!" I dashed into the bathroom and fixed my make-up, slicked my hair into a pony tail, and yanked on my shoes, all in record time. My curiosity was going to eat me alive. I caught myself almost bouncing on the elevator ride down. I was definitely spending way too much time around Haley.

I really shouldn't have bothered getting all excited, though- Alec was exactly what I had thought he might be. He was a clean cut, freshly shaved, freshly pressed, wholesome Midwest kind of boy. He was past six foot but was thin as if he hadn't quite finished growing, his curly brown hair kept short, highlighting his bright green eyes. He wore khakis, a polo shirt, and doc martens: a total young Republican.

His face lit up as I stepped off the elevator and he rushed forward. "Haley?" said, a moment before reality sank in. He immediately slowed down as I approached, his jaw hanging open a little. I smirked at his discomfort and he cleared his throat nervously.

"Ms. Plum?" he inquired, sliding a GQ smile into place. I looked him up and down.

"Why are you here?" I asked glaring at him. He reminded me of a satanic combination of Dickie and Morelli. With something else I couldn't quite place...

"I need to talk to Haley," he said, looking to the elevator behind me.

"She isn't here," I told him flatly, folding my arms over my chest and shifting my weight to one foot impatiently. Alec frowned.

"Where is she?"

"Out," I said. I didn't care what had brought him here- whatever it was it could take him right back. He was scum, and worse he was predictable and oddly familiar scum. I didn't care to talk to him.

"Please, Ms. Plum, I need to talk to her!" he protested.

"Call her." I kept my gaze gold and watched him dispassionately. He shuffled his feet nervously, like a shy country boy. Probably that move had helped him win a lot of females over in the past.

"She won't answer her phone," he said, sounding crushed. Oops, guess that explained why her cell phone had been vibrating itself across the carpet all night. But I didn't feel inclined to pity him, so I just shrugged.

"Then I guess you're screwed," I sniffed and looked past him to Louis and the two large RangeMan guys on security detail- Cal and Junior, two of ther larger, scarier variety. I smiled at them and pointed to Alec.

"Could you guys please make sure he gets out okay?" I asked as nicely as I could. I looked back at Alec. "I think you ought to consider moving on with your life. Haley doesn't need you or your lies." I didn't wait for a response, I just turned and headed back to the elevator. I got about three steps before Alec's hand wrapped around my arm. Silly boy. I turned back, trying to pull my arm free.

"I need to see her!" he protested, tightening his grip on me. "She's got to listen to-" he broke off suddenly as Cal's gun appeared in his field of vision.

"You might want to rethink your strategy, son," Junior advised in a conversational tone from a couple yards back. I saw he had his own gun up and ready. I felt my lips curl into a smirk as Alec's face drained of color, his eyes focusing on the gun barrel.

"Yeah," I added. "Blood's a bitch to clean up, you know." Alec's hand dropped away, and he stared at the three of us in dawning horror.

"Fucking mercs," he spat, as the shock of finding himself at gunpoint apparently wore uff. "What the hell is it with your family?"

I didn't have an answer to that one, so I let it go. "I think you need to leave now," I advised him.

"I'm going," his green eyes met mine and I shuddered. They were blazing with anger, but somehow they seemed empty. Empty like Ramirez's had been. Empty like Hannibal Ramos'. I stepped backward almost without meaning to as Cal's hand settled on Alec's shoulder. The two guards ushered him out of the building, but I didn't stay to witness it. I fled back into the elevator and into the apartment.

Haley had almost married that. Why hadn't anyone said anything sooner? Didn't someone notice he wasn't freaking sane? I shuddered at the thoughts of what might have happened if Dom hadn't held her to that promise, and threw myself back down on the couch to escape back to some other corner of the galaxy.

I had barely gotten through the first commercial break when my cell phone rang. I picked it up without even looking at the screen.

"Hello?"

"Babe," Ranger sounded... strained? Uh-oh, Haley had done something.

"What's wrong? Did she freeze?" I sat up, preparing myself to get lectured on bad choices and unprepared novices.

"No. She did fine... but there was a slight problem." My heart speeded up. Oh god, not again….

"Ranger?" My voice trembled a little and I hated myself for it.

"A bunch of cars blew up when she was leading him out." I saw spots dancing around my vision and my stomach started crawling toward my throat.

"Oh my god! Is she okay? What happened?"

"It got crazy after the explosions. Hoped she'd gotten home on her own."

"No. She hasn't. But Alec just showed up. Maybe she saw him and it scared her off."

"Alec?"

"Her fiancee. He, um, he made a scene down in the lobby. Cal and Junior escorted him off the premises…"

"We'll be there in twenty." And he hung up.

I had a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I thought some good old Ben & Jerry's would help, but one look at the carton had me feeling sick. This wasn't good. I tried several other food options, the same result each time.

The bad feeling got worse, and by the time Tank knocked on the door I had been staring at the same Snickers bar for fifteen minutes, unable to manage a single bite. I let him in and went back to contemplating the first unappealing piece of chocolate I had found in my life.

"Bombshell." Tank looked serious and more than his usual amount of scary as he walked in. He was in the usual black, and had all the usual weapons on him, but it was the look in his face that got me. The last time I had seen that look was on a redecorating job when he tossed some guy out a third story window. I felt a sudden surge of happiness that he was on my side. "The Boss is still sorting out the cops," he said the word with only the minimal amount of disdain. His inscrutable dark eyes bored into mine. "She was on one of our operations- and nobody messes with our people."

For once I didn't look away from his gaze, even though Tank was one of the Merry Men I really didn't feel all that comfortable around, mainly because I had gotten him shot and his leg broken. I kept wondering when he was going to remember that. He was also one of the biggest guys I had ever seen, and probably one of the deadliest, it's an awe-inspiring combination. Unless you're Haley, who seems to think crazed mercenaries are completely normal. "What if we don't find her?" I tried to keep my voice calm and failed miserably. I felt the tears starting to gather and cursed them- I hated acting like a stupid girlie-girl in front of anyone, especially the RangeMan guys. "Where do we start looking?"

Tank looked like he was about to say something when his phone rang. "Hey Ric... yeah, I'm here.... You sure? ... All right... Fuck.... Be right there." He lowered the phone and looked at me warily. "Looks like we're meeting in the conference room. Debriefing time."

"He find out anything?" I asked hopefully. Tank just did his impression of a stone wall, which was actually pretty believable.

"We'll find out," he said simply. But I was pretty sure his tension level had just increased. Yeesh. I slipped my tennis shoes back on and as an afterthought I grabbed Haley's phone. It said she'd missed 15 calls. Momentarily forgetting my imposing company, I scrolled through the call list. Almost all of the calls were from Slimer, who I assumed to be Alec, except for three, which were from Mom, Cyclops, and Superman. Great, you needed a decoder ring for her freaking phone book.

"Let's go," I sighed and let Tank lead the way to the conference rooms. I still wasn't too clear on the exact layout of the building, so it was just easier that way.

--------------------------------------------------

Normally sitting in a room with some of the hottest eye-candy in the area is something a girl like me will only dream about. But here I was, seated in the conference room with the A-Team and Batman, and I was wishing that I could be anywhere else on the face of the planet, third world countries included.

"Please tell me this is some sick joke," I whispered, staring up at Ranger, begging him to tell me that it wasn't true. His face stayed blank, and he shook his head. Well, he actually just moved his head a fraction of an inch to the left, but the impression was one of 'absolutely not.'

" The kidnapper claimed to have you, not Haley," he said. "We can't let him know differently."

"Who is this son of a bitch?" Bobby demanded from my left. All of the guys were looking like they could single-handedly take over a small island nation, but Bobby looked offended to boot. His pride was taking a beating I guess, since they had apparently been taken by an incompetent kidnapper.

"Someone with a grudge against Steph, and Ranger," Lester said thoughtfully. "And who obviously never got a real good look at Steph." Even in my panicked condition I had to turn that last part over in my mind. I thought there might be an insult hidden in it somewhere, but I couldn't tell if it was aimed at me, Haley, or the kidnapper.

"Hey," I pointed out. " People make that mistake all the time, lately." I was thinking of the several times Haley had reported people wanting to take a picture with her at the club because they thought she was the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. "Even Morelli got confused." I chose to ignore the guys' faces on that last part. I saw about a million wise cracks dying to be let loose.

Ranger just gave me a look. "Kidnappers tend to have detailed intel, and photographs."

"So maybe it's just some whacko?" There were a few derisive noises from the A-Team.

"Some whacko don't manage to plant explosives like the ones at the bar. Those were high end," Tank sounded almost admiring. "And they got one on one of our cars, meaning they had to know a way around our sensors. Not an easy thing to do." I thought of a few choice Italian phrases, but kept them to myself. Why couldn't it have just been a random weirdo? Oh no, it was a smart random weirdo.

"Cal and Hal put together a list of cases we've worked together. Most are in prison, except three," Ranger produced a small pile of folders. "One has found religion and is currently in a mission in Africa." One file hit the table. "One's just a small time street punk, Darien Childs, and the other... The other one is Charles Deering, who has spent the last year in East St. Louis building up a new clientele."

I bit my lip, thinking hard. Deering had been a distraction job- a chauvinistic drug dealer who was a couple fries short of a happy meal and had some serious control issues where females were concerned. If he had Haley... My stomach twisted into some very complicated knots.

"What would have brought him back?" Tank asked.

"Not known, but revenge would be a good enough motive," Ranger said.

"How do we find her?" my voice was desperate. "We should call the police, or someone..."

"Deering had crooked cops in his pocket before he was busted," Lester said quietly. "Trusting the boys in blue might not be a great idea on this one."

"What about Childs?" Bobby asked.

"I've got a team tracking him down."

There was a knock at the door and a large, heavily muscled weightlifter type stuck his head in. "Boss, they just found Childs. He's taken up residence in da county morgue. Been there a couple a' days." And he left. Someone seriously needed to introduce them to the art of the graceful exit. At least that meant we had one less suspect.

But something about Deering was niggling at me, beyond the knowledge of his possible insanity. "Did you say Deering's been living in East St. Louis?" I wondered out loud. The guys turned to me and waited for further information.

"Babe?" Ranger said gently. I bit my lip, letting the thoughts form a little more before I focused my attention on him.

"Haley doesn't live that far from there, that's all. It sounds..." I searched for a word, and one of Haley's popped into my brain, "It sounds hinky is all."

"What would Haley have to do with an East Saint Louis drug dealer?" Lester sounded skeptical.

"I don't know," I admitted quietly. "But I know someone who would." I pulled Haley's cell phone out of my pocket and started scrolling through the phone book. It took me a minute to think which funky nickname was probably the one I wanted, but soon I had the number I wanted. I dialed and waited. It rang all of twice before a sleepy and slightly agitated male voice answered.

"What's up?" he muttered.

"Dominic Vega?" I asked tentatively.

"Who is this?" he demanded, his voice suddenly much more alert.

"Stephanie Plum, I'm-"

"What's wrong with Haley?" Ok. Wow. Did all special forces guys have ESP or what?

"She's..." hm, I considered my options on this one. "She's disappeared."

"What?" Dominic's voice had a distinct don't-tell-me-you-just-said-that edge.

"We need to know if she knew someone named Charles Deering? He was a-"

"I know him," he growled. "Just a moment, Ms. Plum..." and the line was silent for a full minute. I looked around me at the Merry Men, who had a complete lack of expression. It was a little unnerving but Dom's voice came back before I could give it much more thought. "How did this happen?"

I bit my lip again and glanced at Ranger, who nodded once. I let out a sigh of relief and handed him the phone. He knew what questions to ask, anyway. I wasn't all that shocked when the conversation was conducted in rapid fire Spanish, but it was interesting. I don't think I'd ever actually seen Ranger use Spanish before… well, outside the bedroom… ack. Where had that thought come from? So not the time or place, Stephanie.

In typical fashion the phone call was over in about two minutes, barely giving me time to get some highly inappropriate images out of my head. I sighed, deciding to blame Ranger and his sudden attack of morals for my insane hormones. Speaking of the man, he looked a like he was caught somewhere between amusement and annoyance as he put the phone down.

"Dom and his team will be here in four hours," he announced to the room at large. The Merry Men nodded, looking like this was nothing unexpected. I didn't follow it, though. The A-Team didn't seem like they'd be ones for joint efforts. I was debating whether or not to bring it up when Ranger looked back at me.

"Dominic and his team are based in the RangeMan Saint Louis office," he explained. I thought about this, and realized it explained a lot. Okay, so one mystery solved. And since it had been via a direct answer from Ranger, I decided to shelve the rest of my questions. For the moment.

"Why don't we take a break?" Bobby suggested. "The new kids won't get here, and the kidnapper ain't gonna be calling for a while."

I didn't want a break- I wanted Haley safe. I wanted to grab Sally's uzi and go looking for her, but the guys had convinced me not to go out anytime soon, because if it really was Deering, he wasn't going to be happy he got the wrong girl, and he might take it out on Haley. I felt sick again.

It wasn't until Ranger actually pulled me up out of the chair that I realized the guys had left. "Please, Babe," he whispered. Please what? Had he been talking to me? Crap. I hate having to worry that I missed something important. I looked up at him, not bothering to even try to hide the confusion.

"This isn't your fault, Steph. It was my operation- I lost her." His dark chocolate eyes were locked on mine, and they showed his determination. And when Ranger gets that look people either get out of his way or die. It was sweet, in a scary sort of way. "She'll be fine. She's too much like you not to be," his voice was quiet and soft as a caress.

I just desperately hoped that he was right. I was tired and I was worried and I couldn't do a damned thing about it. I leaned into Ranger and closed my eyes as the smell of Bulgari washed over me. I felt so safe... and Haley was in so much danger. My eyes started filling with tears. "We should find Alec, at least tell him what's going on," I said into Ranger's chest. But he was playing with my hair, so I wasn't about to move. Somehow, as long as he was there, it was going to be ok. Stupid logic, even for me, but whatever works, right?

"Probably," he responded, but didn't make any moves to leave. My stomach chose that moment to make its emptiness heard. Ranger laughed, held me tighter. "Let's get you fed." I nodded, although I really didn't see the appeal of food for once, even if my stomach did. We were almost to the door when I realized what I hadn't told him.

"Ranger," I said, coming to a complete stop. I turned to him, my eyes wide in the realization of my own stupidity. "Ranger, about Alec. I told you he was here, and Cal and Junior had to get rid of him?" he inclined his head and stayed quiet, I think he was used to my random flashes of intuition now. "His eyes, he looked like Ramirez." I shuddered at the sheer memory of what eyes like that could do.

"Babe-" I shook my head and held my ground.

"I'm not saying he's slice and dice crazy like that, but he wasn't there, Ranger. He looked empty. Angry, desperate… but empty." His mouth thinned, and his eyes went blank.

"We'll look into it."

----------------------------------------------------

An hour later I had begun to pace a hole in the rug. The boys were all off doing useful things, but there wasn't much I could do except stay put and answer the phone… I blinked and thought about that. I wasn't allowed out, but I could still call, right? I dug Haley's phone out again and tried Alec's cell phone. Sure enough it worked. He picked up on the first ring.

"Baby doll!" he said quickly. "I really need to-"

"Save it, Alec. This is Stephanie." There was dead silence on the other end of the phone. Finally he cleared his throat.

"Oh, sorry, I-"

"Haley's disappeared. I was wondering if you have any ideas?" I asked, keeping my voice as cordial as I could. I managed it, but barely.

"That god damned Vega is what it's about. I told her he was trash!" Alec hissed. "I told her so many fucking times that hanging out with him was dangerous. Hell, he's dangerous. But she wouldn't listen. Shit. Now this..." I had heard similar speeches before. Substitute "Ranger" for "Dominic". And just like then, I didn't see how Dominic would be tied into this.

"Call me back if you think of anything else." And I hung up on him. Jesus, no wonder Haley packed up and left- it was probably a hell of a lot easier than talking to that man.

I spent the next two hours pacing, trying to puzzle out why a former skip from almost two years ago, who had apparently since set up shop in East St. Louis would suddenly decide to take revenge by kidnapping me. Unless the guy was just totally Fruit Loops, something was definitely hinky. I had just retraced my thoughts into a mental circle for the umpteenth time when the phone buzzed. Reluctantly I picked it up.

"There are some gentlemen here from the Saint Louis offices. They said they'd like to meet you," Louis Guzman said. Even though all the panic and anxiety, I smiled. I was curious to see what Dom and the others were like. Haley hadn't talked much about them, but I had the impression Dominic and his team had been important to her back home.

"I'll meet them in the lobby." It was time for our recess to end anyway, so I could go with them to the conference room. I ran through a last minute hair and make-up check then hurried out the door, dying of curiosity.

I'm not sure who, or what, I was expecting to greet when I stepped out of the elevator, but it definitely wasn't the group of men I found standing in the RangeMan lobby. I knew the guys Haley had talked so highly about were all Special Forces types, and I knew Dom and most of his team had been SEALs. Yet, somehow despite the fact that I worked regularly with several former army Rangers and assorted other commandos, I'd never really put the two together.

Dominic Vega was... Ranger part 2. A little over six foot, mocha skin, built like a brick wall, and dressed in a white T-shirt, gray rapper pants, sporting several earrings and shaggy black hair. He looked like an East St. Louis gang member and the two guys with him made him look almost clean cut.

"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Plum," Dominic said, extending his hand and smiling. It made him look younger, more approachable. It also made him look like what GQ photographers dreamed of. I took his hand and returned the smile. I hadn't noticed it on the phone but he had a quiet, soothing kind of voice. Maybe from years of calming Haley down. "I'd like to introduce my teammates," he continued and gestured to the two men beside him. "Angel del Torro, and Dante Santini."

"It's very nice to meet you all," I said, looking them over curiously. God, they were all gorgeous, even if they looked like gang members from Hell. No wonder Haley had managed the RangeMan guys without batting an eye. And after looking at Dom, it was much easier to understand why she had taken to Ranger so well.

"So what's happened to our girl?" Dante asked. He had a vague accent, and the kind of voice that made girls weak in the knees. I pursed my lips. Down, Stephanie. These guys are at least... 6 years younger than you and your cousin is being held captive by an insane drug dealer.

"We're not sure yet. The team's meeting back up in the conference room," I said.

"Well, let's get the party started," Dante grinned, and I was suddenly reminded of wolves and other large predators.

When we stepped into the elevator I took the time to look them over.

Angel was of a lighter build than Dom, with a more golden skin tone, dark blond hair, and blue eyes. In short he fit his name, all you needed was a set of wings. Dante was the tallest of the three by a couple inches, and he had distinctly Italian coloring, his long dark hair was pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. The three were silent, but I felt Dominic examining me closely. I turned to him, a sharp question on my tongue, but his words caught me off guard.

"You look a lot like her, you know?" he said softly. Something entered his eyes but he had the bad ass mask back in place before I could name it. "How's she been doing here?"

I thought back over the last few weeks before I answered. He deserved a truthful answer. "I think she's happy," I said finally. "She seems to really like it here, and she loves the guys. I think they remind her of you all."

This drew a chuckle from Angel. "It's sure been boring as hell without her. Never thought I'd miss her and that damned bouncing," he remarked.

"Huh. You should have been around for cheerleading try-outs," Dom muttered. I cast a sympathetic glance his way. If his experience had been anything like mine, he deserved it.

I had a million questions for them, but the elevator slid to a stop and I led the way to the appointed conference room. All conversations ceased when I opened the door. "Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce Dominic, Angel, and Dante." There were polite, barely perceptible nods all around. "And this is Tank, Bobby, Lester, and Ranger."

"Hey, Uncle Ric," Dominic said quietly. My jaw hit the floor and I stared from Ranger to Dom. Well that explained the Ranger Jr syndrome. Ranger gave a half smile.

"Dom." He looked at the rest of us. "Everyone get seated. We have a few hours before the kidnapper intends to call back with his ransom demands, and we need a plan."

"We have to wait for him to call before we can trace it, but we'll be ready to move when he does," Bobby said, probably for my benefit.

"What if we can't trace it?" Dante asked.

"We think she still has her wire on. We have people trying to trace the signal."

"He probably won't take her very far, either," said Angel. "Deering has a nasty grudge against you, Ranger. He'll want to stay around and gloat. That means he'll keep her alive for a while, but only if he doesn't realize he got the wrong girl."

"How do you know so much about this guy?" Lester's voice was hard, and his eyes were watching the newcomers like they were time bombs.

"Helped bust him a couple times in St. Louis. Minor shit," Dante supplied. "But this guy, he ain't very nice. We gotta get Haley outta there."

"And he's got resources," Angel added. "Plenty of cash, and a lot of people on his payroll."

I felt a headache building. Nothing quite added up, but the hazy images that were forming in my head were definitely bad. A crazed drug lord wanted to kidnap me for revenge. Ok, that wasn't normal but not unheard of. Lots of people wanted to kidnap and/or kill me probably. But the St. Louis thing wouldn't leave my head.


	4. Chapter 3: Complications

Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich owns the Plum Universe. If only she would just rent out Ranger…

Note: Thanks for all the help and support everyone! Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it.

****

Chapter 3

The boys were taking the phone call from the kidnappers. I wasn't allowed in the room but I didn't mind in the least. For once I was more than willing to let someone else take the lead. I didn't have the foggiest idea of how do deal with kidnapping and ransom demands when it was someone else who had been kidnapped. Deranged psychos were one thing, deranged psychos with an agenda were something else entirely.

I didn't have the training for this, and if I was seen anywhere it could just put Haley in even more danger. This sucked on so many levels I didn't even want to think about it. I couldn't go looking for her, I couldn't really help the guys without just ending up underfoot. All of this was running through my head as I walked back to my apartment. The place already felt like home, but tonight it just felt empty. I'd always thought I did better living alone, but I was being forced to realize I'd gotten used to Haley being there. It was fun to have someone with her energy bouncing around, it always gave me someone to talk to and laugh with.

Now it was just too quiet. I turned on the stereo, sliding in one of Haley's randomly mixed cd's of bubble gum pop and club songs. It was one of our few differences- I preferred rock and metal to headbang to, Haley wanted something to bounce to. A bit of white lying under the sofa caught my eye and I bent to investigate it. Her teddy bear with the blue eyes. The one that she had acquired somehow during a night on the town. I hugged it to me and wondered again where it had come from. She was going to tell me when she got back. If she- the tears that had been threatening all night started to spill down my cheeks. There were too many psychos in the world and they apparently just gravitated toward my family members. God, what ancient gypsy tribe did we piss off?

I tried to concentrate on the mind numbing pop song, but it didn't help. I hugged the stuffed bear and tried to distract myself. Let's think about food. I could handle food. Food didn't worry about which kind of love was which, or worry you senseless, or wear Bulgari, and it didn't take anything hostage except my thighs. Yeah, food was good. No one kidnaps food unless you're in a college dorm.

I was just opening the door to the fridge when I heard the music. I closed the fridge and listened again. Definitely the Midnight Sonata, as played by a cell phone. I walked back out to the couch and poked through the cushions. There it was- Haley's cell phone, just where I'd tossed it after I talked to Alec.

I looked at the display, dreading what I might find. Her mother was probably calling, wondering what had happened to her, why she hadn't called... then again, I didn't remember Haley ever talking to her parents in the last few weeks. That was a sad commentary- I was thirty and my parents played a bigger role in my life.

However, the LCD spared me the torture of enduring the legendary fury of Marie Thorne, instead revealing the caller to be... Professor M.? Who in the hell was that? Had she had an affair with a college professor? And why would a professor's number be in her phone anyway?

Ok, so by now I should know better, but as usual, I didn't. I answered the phone.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Ah, Hello Miss," said a man's voice. It wasn't very deep, but it was very cool and polite. A professional salesman type voice. Uh, should I correct him?

"Uh huh," I said indistinctly.

"Ma'am," the man said pleasantly, "We have your cousin."

Shit! The kidnappers were calling HALEY? What happened to Ranger? Wasn't this revenge against Ranger and I?

Before I could say anything, Mr. Cool Kidnapper Voice continued. "No need to worry, she is quite safe at the moment. In fact, we'd be very happy to arrange her release, in exchange for you. You see, you are much more valuable than she is, but you know that, don't you? Be at the parking lot in front of Pino's in fifteen minutes alone and your cousin will be free to go."

And he disconnected before my brain and mouth could even reconnect. The kidnappers wanted Haley? She was more valuable... Oh, shit, another psychotic relative after the inheritance. Geez, you'd think they'd at least wait until her grandpa was dead…

I looked at the clock. I had fifteen minutes to get to Pino's Of course, this involved me leaving the RangeMan building and directly disobeying Ranger, which would probably really piss him off. I didn't think he'd shoot me, probably he would just ship me off to a third world country.... I could deal with that, if it got Haley out of their clutches.

I should tell Ranger now, and let the guys handle this, the annoying voice of sane reason piped up. But they couldn't mobilize in fifteen minutes, and what if they wouldn't let me go? No, I could do this. Simple exchange that's all it was.

The kidnappers wanted to exchange me for Haley, but they were really exchanging Haley for me. There was probably some sort of ironic humor in there somewhere, but I really didn't care about that, I cared about getting to Pino's in the next thirteen minutes.

I grabbed the keys and ran down the hall. I took the stairs for once, skipping down them two at a time, because I was determined to beat any and all security guys down to the garage. I didn't want to have to try to stun one of them again, since I was pretty sure they weren't all as gullible as Hal.

Exactly fifteen minutes later I was angling my powder blue Escape into the Pino's Parking lot. I was just easing into a parking space when I realized I hadn't left a message for the guys. And that I probably should have at least called them on the way or something. Whoops. I wonder what happens in My Fair Lady when Professor Higgins shoots Eliza?

Well, only one thing to do now, and that was a quick call to Ranger. Actually, considering what Ranger was like when pissed, maybe this was a good time to get taken hostage... or not. What if he decided to just let them have me? Crap. I should have thought of that...

"Babe?" his voice sounded tired, and just a little strained.

"Hey. I'm at Pino's."

"I know," he growled. Ah, I've heard the third world is great this time of year...

"Sorry," I said trying to sound as apologetic as I possibly could. "It was an emergency. They called Haley's cell, and wanted her to change places with me."

"What?" Ranger's volume raised a couple notched. Uh oh.

"So I'm meeting them, and um," I got out of the Escape. "You might need to come get Haley because-" I never finished the sentence. A sharp prick at my neck distracted me.

"Stephanie!" I heard Ranger's voice faintly as the phone fell away from me.

I blinked a few times, wondering what was going on as the cell dropped away from my suddenly unresponsive hand. It was so heavy; my body felt heavy too, and time seemed to have slowed a little... Everything faded quickly to black, and I only had a heartbeat to feel a faint stir of panic. Irrationally, my panic was not over my impending ordeal at the hands of a demented drug lord. Oh no, my panicked last thought was: 'Shit! I just hung up on Ranger...'

Ranger glanced at his nephew, more than a little concerned. Dom was hiding his thoughts very well, but his body language was overly tight and almost too controlled. Ranger understood perfectly, having been in similar situations with Stephanie more times than he really wanted to remember.

He looked across the table at Dom's companions. He had hired Dante a couple years ago, another street fighter punk with an attitude, but a good work ethic. That background made his reaction to the situation so far a little surprising. The wall of the hallway outside was sporting several new holes to prove just how surprising. Stephanie's charm was apparently just as genetic as the car destruction.

Ranger gave a mental sigh. He had a very bad feeling about this, but maybe if Steph stayed out of sight, it might work out...

"Boss?" Cal's voice came over the intercom, sounding a little nervous. Fuck.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"She just took off in her car." Cal coughed. "We didn't get down there in time to stop her." No need to ask who 'she' was.

"Fuck," Tank voiced his own opinion.

Ranger's eyes narrowed and his hands curled themselves into fists. What in the hell was she thinking going out by herself? He took a deep breath, willing himself to stay calm. "You have someone following her?" he asked Cal through the intercom.

"Yeah, Boss. Hal and Drake are on it. GPS has her headed toward, uh, Pino's," Cal sounded a little more relaxed. Stephanie's pizza habit was well-known.

"Good. Tell them to stay close." And he punched the button to disconnect. Of all the god damned times for her to decide to take a pizza break… His stomach clenched at the thought of what might happen if kidnapper saw her and realized his mistake.

The rest of the guys in the room were silent, apparently waiting to see if he was under control or murderous. Before they could decide either way, Ranger's cell phone went off. A glance at the LCD, and then he answered it. "Babe?" he said, trying to keep his voice calm and neutral.

"Hey, I'm at Pino's," she said with false cheer. He gritted his teeth. He knew perfectly well where she was.

"I know," Ranger said, his voice tight.

"Sorry, it was an emergency. They called Haley's cell, and wanted her to change places with me." Ranger shook his head slightly. Hoping like hell he hadn't heard her right.

"What?"

"So I'm meeting them..." Maybe Morelli had the right idea with that shower curtain rod after all. "You might need to come get Haley because-" she gasped and there was the sound of plastic hitting pavement.

"Stephanie?" he asked desperately. What the hell was happening on the other end of the phone? His mind played out a myriad of scenarios, none of them ending well. The line went dead. "Fuck!"

Dom watched his uncle's cell phone sail across the room. She must have hung up on him. Before he could ask, though, Ric was on his feet, heading out the door.

"Tank, Dom, we're going to Pino's," he growled. Huh, so much for explanations. "Everyone else, I want to know who would want Haley and why, ASAP. And any and all connections to the East St Louis drug scene."

Dante raised an eyebrow and glanced at Dom questioningly. He nodded in response and then motioned to Angel as he followed his uncle out the door and down to the garage. It was going to be a fucking long day.

Angel was on his phone before the door closed. "Anything?" he asked as soon as the person on the other end picked up.

"Nada," came the response. "Fucker hasn't moved out of the hotel room. But he's nervous. Pacing like a motherfucker."

"You got sound in there?"

"Hell yeah. The maid was real helpful. Cute little thing too," the other man said happily. Angel hoped the maid hadn't been as helpful as the tone implied.

"Phone?" he asked.

"Quinn's working on it. But we got his cell covered. He got a call from Haley's cousin a while ago. You know, he don't seem to think real highly of us and definitely not Dominic." Angel snorted at this revelation.

"Yeah. There's news," his voice dripped sarcasm.

"He seemed to think her getting kidnapped was Dom's fault," the other added conversationally. Angel's instincts went on full alert.

"What doesn't he consider Dom's fault, exactly?"

"Good point," the other responded. "So, any news on our girl?" his teammate's voice was suddenly serious. Angel sighed.

"Nah. They called, wanted a mil, wanted it dropped off somewhere and they would drop her off somewhere else."

"Fuck. There's a setup."

"No shit. Now they called her cell, got her cousin and offered a trade."

"And she went alone, fast as could be, right?"

"Got it in one. D, Ric, and Tank are out playing cavalry right now. Ric had a couple guys tailing her anyway but they ain't called in."

"Fuck."

"Yeah. Stay close to the weasel, okay?"

"Aye aye, captain."

Angel disconnected and banged his head against the wall. Dante tilted his head by way of inquiring as to his partner's mental health. "Nada, amigo," Angel said finally. "Guess Stephanie called him with the news but that's it."

Dante shook his head sadly. "This thing don't feel right. It feels like someone ain't all there who's calling the shots." Angel thought this over a minute and decided his partner was right.

"Which would fit Deering perfectly. But I would be willing to bet my life Alec isn't just in town by coincidence."

Angel could almost see the wheels turning in Dan's head. His partner's dark eyes took on a familiar gleam and his accent was slightly more noticeable when he spoke. "Got an idea," he said and nearly sprinted toward the control room.

)))(((

The parking lot at Pino's was deserted except for a tragically powder blue Escape with the driver side door ajar and a black SUV idling behind it. Dom had his gun out before Ranger even turned in.

Cautiously the trio of men exited the bronco and began making their way toward the SUV, guns ready. A loud groan alerted them to the presence of someone inside.

"Hal?" Tank called softly

"Yeah, Boss?" came the reply. "I think Drake's hurt pretty bad. I just got hit with some kind of dart thing. Muscles ain't all workin' yet."

"Stephanie?" Ranger asked as they opened the driver's side door. Hal was sitting deathly still, his breathing a little shallow.

"Darted. Three of them in a white van. Don't know what happened. We stopped and there weren't any others. I opened my door and got it, I guess they took a little longer on Drake."

The man in question was slumped in the passenger seat sporting a bloody nose, and a nasty cut on his head. Two darts were still lodged in the back of his neck. Considering Drake was about Tank's size it wasn't surprising he took an extra dose. Tank was already calling for an ambulance. It was never a good idea to put off medical attention when unknown tranquilizers were involved. Dom pulled one of the darts out of Drake's neck for analysis back at HQ, while Ranger headed over to investigate the truck.

Stephanie's cell phone was on the ground in pieces by the door, and another phone lay on the passenger seat, its pink Playboy bunny cover marking it as Haley's. No blood anywhere, which was a relief albeit a small one. He picked up the pieces of Steph's phone and looked again at Haley's. Steph had said the kidnappers called it .He tried finding the 'received calls' listing, but with no luck.

"Let me try," Dom said, sounding a little amused. Watching his bad ass uncle fumbling with a bit of shiny pink plastic and jewel toned buttons would have been a Kodak moment any other day of the year. As it was he himself felt a little foolish as he flicked through the menus, and wondered for the umpteenth time what had possessed Haley to put the ridiculous cover on. When he finally found the menu, he nearly choked at the name next to the last call. Professor M.

He let loose a few inventive Spanish phrases. Ranger raised an eyebrow. Dom just handed him the phone.

"Professor M.?" Ranger said after giving his nephew a moment to calm down.

"Deering." Dom rubbed a hand over his eyes, feeling suddenly drained. "That's what a lot of the kids at McKendree called him."

"Thought you said she didn't do drugs?" Tank said as he ambled over. "How she got a dealer in her phone book then?"

"She didn't! Haley's drug of choice is caffeine or...Shit." Why the hell hadn't he thought of that sooner? His thoughts raced through the possibilities. That meant she knew Deering, and he would have probably noticed how much she looked like the bounty hunter that caught him... So maybe the kidnapping wasn't a mistake after all?

And they sure as hell hadn't traded Haley, so they either wanted both the girls or they knew they had made a mistake. Dominic closed his eyes and tried to focus.

"So she knew him?" Ranger prodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'd definitely bet that she knew him. I think we need to get back to the office," Dom said quietly, feeling ill. "Things just got complicated."

"I hate it when that happens," Tank muttered.


	5. Chapter 4: Welcome to Neverland

Note: Thank you to all the lovely people who read this, and for all the feedback, support, and reviews. I hope everyone enjoys the slightly re-edited version. Please do read and review!

Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich own the plum series. I'm just borrowing it for profitless play time.

Chapter 4

I woke up weightless, floating suspended in absolute dark. Franticly I tried to reach out, find out where I was. Maybe I was blind? That would explain the total darkness, but... I couldn't move. Shit. I willed my arms to move, and then my legs, but nothing happened. I tried sitting up, moving my head- all with no results. I wasn't even sure if I was blinking.

I took a deep breath and screamed. At least I thought I was screaming. I didn't hear it, somehow. Maybe I was deaf too?

It took a few minutes of blind, gut-wrenching terror before I realized the truth. Okay, it might have been hours or days; I wasn't exactly in a position to know. Floating the warm darkness, I might have been in water but if I was it was exactly the temperature of my body and I couldn't even tell where it ended and I began. I felt tiny pinpricks in my arms and legs, or rather where my arms and legs should be, as if my brain was desperately trying to locate my body. I didn't take a lot of comfort in that- how many stories had I read about people feeling 'ghost limbs' after losing one?

Nope, the truth gradually sank in past the mind-numbing terror. I was dead.

Death wasn't what I had expected, however. I was fairly certain there was supposed to be some pearly gates or burning lakes, not floating in a cosmic pool. Unless this was limbo. Great. I'm dead and in limbo and I don't even know how I got here.

I realized the pinpricks had stopped about a heartbeat before my mind began flashing my entire life story in front of me. Ok, not the entire life story just hopelessly random scenes in no particular order. The only thing that everything had in common was the eerie clarity of everything. Colors, sounds, even smells rushed over me.

I just relaxed and enjoyed the show. I cringed as I watched a teenage Joe Morelli walk through the door of the Tasty Pastry and flash me a flirtatious smile. Of all the things... and then I was standing in my apartment in nothing but a towel, Ranger standing close enough I could feel his body heat as he put the SEAL's hat on my head then tucked a few wayward strands behind my ear. "Proud of you, Babe," he said softly. Even dead I felt a wave of heat. How sad is that?

But then those memories began to fade, and felt more distant. Like they were a part of some other life, or some place I could never go back to. And there were other, more colorful memories floating to the surface.

I found myself standing in a kitchen, slathering rich chocolate frosting on a cake, then turned to look up into the face of Charles Deering. I smiled and gestured to the cake. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"Of course she will. Your sister adores everything you do, darling, just like me." I laughed at him, brandishing the chocolate-laden butter knife threateningly. He rolled his eyes.

I lay back in the deck chair with a contented sigh and turned my head to watch my baby sister flirting shamelessly with one of the crewmembers. I shook my head and closed my eyes in surrender.

I opened them with a shriek at the sound of a gun firing close by. I was sitting at my parents' dining room table, a beautiful dinner spread out before me. The only thing amiss was the smoking hole in the turkey and the sad, broken state of the platter it was resting on. I glanced at my grandmother who was glaring at the gun in her hand. My eye began to twitch and I clapped my hand over it.

"Serena, are you all right?" someone asked, their voice concerned. I reluctantly opened my eyes, revealing an impossibly beautiful sandy beach and a vast expanse of glittering blue beyond it. I looked up into my sister's concerned gaze and nodded slowly.

"I'm fine. Just fell a little hard. Is Misty all right?" The horse in question nickered softly to my right. But when I looked to assure myself she was okay I wasn't at the beach anymore. I was sitting across a table from a Hispanic guy dressed like a rapper/thug and he was laughing.

"I always wanted to be Professor Higgins," he said in a deep voice, still chuckling. Gangsters watched My Fair Lady? And why was I discussing giving a gangster the role of Professor Higgins?

Good grief, I had to be tripping...

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They were back around the table in the conference room, Stephanie's seat conspicuously empty this time. No one mentioned taking it out, and no one looked at it either.

"So Haley has a habbit?" Tank prompted once everyone was seated.

"Yeah," Dom sighed, "Diet pills."

"Huh? Why does she need a dealer for diet pills?" Bobby looked skeptical. "They have whole aisles full of them in the store."

"Ephedra," Angel supplied. "Haley and her group at home popped Stackers like they were fucking candy even after the FDA banned it."

"So Deering keeps cheerleaders in diet heaven now?" Lester's eyebrows were raised.

"Along with his more usual clientele, yeah," Dante answered.

"How does this concern the case again?" Tank asked.

"Deering knows Haley. And I seriously doubt her resemblance to the girl who helped take him down went unnoticed. Which probably means that he knew damned well who he was kidnapping earlier. And he might just mean to keep them both."

"So who would he call for Haley's ransom?" Ranger's voice was calm and even.

"Her parents. But he hasn't called them. I have a team at home monitoring their phones," Dom answered. He slumped into his seat.

"Any other possibilities?" Ranger asked, looking around the room expectantly.

"Weasel," Angel said with a triumphant smirk, pushing a stack of papers forward. "I mean her ex, Alec Masters. Seems he's diversifying lately. His bank records show some pretty large withdrawals, funneled into accounts traceable to none other than our pal, Charles Deering. And he's made some even bigger deposits."

Ranger looked thoughtful. "Steph said Alec was in town?"

"I sent two of my guys to follow him," Dom said. "Didn't want him getting underfoot."

Dante was smirking. "Looks like he's more than underfoot. He's partnering up with Deering in something. Alec being a chemist and all, it doesn't take a genius to guess what it might be, but word on the street is it's not narcotics. Mind altering is the term that' s getting used but that could mean a lot of shit."

Ranger's eyes darkened and his face was set in grim lines. "So they've teamed up to get rid of both Stephanie and Haley, in addition to whatever drug they're creating."

"Looks like," Angel replied, sifting through the folder in front of him. "And the weird thing is that from what Dan and some of the others have gathered, this drug they're working on is being marketed to males. Rich, upscale guys." The tension in the room rose a few levels, until the air became alive with it

"Tank, I want a full team on Alec in addition to the guys Dom has on him," Ranger ordered, looking around at his men. "Every movement, every phone call. I want to know if he even breathes funny. Mean time, we prepare for the drop tonight. It's probably a dead end, but I am not taking that chance."

The others nodded and began filing out of the room to attend their tasks.

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I smiled and curled up a little more. I was comfortable, beyond that actually. This was sheer bliss. I was snuggled up in a soft, cuddly blanket, floating on a fluffy white cloud watching the whole world slowly turning below me. I thought it was much prettier from this angle, all bright colors and sparkling waters. No street gangs or ugly buildings, no fights or heartbreak; no ghettos or sleazy skips or skanky mafia princesses. All I needed was something to drink and life would be perfect... Drink... "Drink?" I asked the air around me.

"She's waking up," someone said. They sounded amused, which annoyed me. Why should I wake up when the dream was going so beautifully? Then again, I really wanted something to drink. Ah, the sacrifices. I tried to open my eyes but they didn't seem ready to cooperate. I kept trying though, until they finally began to drift open. I sighed in pleasure when I saw my surroundings- I was in a huge bed, soft and fluffy as the cloud I'd been dreaming of, looking up into a sheer mosquito net draping from the ceiling. The linens were white and had to be Egyptian cotton, while the walls were a warm cream color. A breeze ruffled the netting and drifted across my skin, bringing with it the scent of oranges and the tang of the ocean. Maybe I wasn't awake just yet.

"How are you?" Asked a familiar voice. I turned my head to see a vaguely familiar male. I squinted at him, and tried to figure out who in the hell I was looking at. He had a pleasant face, with sparkling green eyes and brown hair. A little young for me, but still handsome.

"Nice to see you again," he said, handing me a glass of water. "Take a drink. That stuff you took can cause some very nasty dehydration."

I took the glass, which looked suspiciously like crystal, and sipped the water quietly, still trying to figure out who he was. Light brown hair, nice build, early twenties... Finally my neurons seemed to wake up. Alec.

"Alec?" I asked for confirmation. "What are you doing here?" I asked him. "And where am I?"

"Me?" he chuckled. "I'm overseeing an investment," he smiled at me, and there was something a little unsettling in those green eyes. He really was a scary little combination of Dickie and Joe. Except for the eyes. The eyes had echoes of something else, almost hidden, but it was there all the same...

"Investment?" I asked, stalling for time. Alec just motioned to my glass.

"You'll see. Drink up. You don't want to go passing out do you?" I glared at him and downed the rest of the water.

"You made me hang up on Ranger," I said. Frowning at him. "He's probably really pissed about that."

Alec smiled condescendingly. "Don't worry about him. That's all in the past." He took my arm and pulled me into a sitting position. "Now we need to get going. You have an appointment."

"What the hell are you talking about Alec?" But my voice didn't hold the outrage it should have. In fact, I really wasn't that upset at all, come to think of it. And anyway, this wasn't bad as far as kidnappings went. Abruzzi and the Slayers had been a lot worse. No comfy beds, and more hitting. Besides, it all seemed so far away, so long ago. Almost like it was just a story…

I frowned, thinking that maybe I should be a lot more upset about this. Shouldn't I be kicking and screaming? I tried kicking and struggling then, but it took so much energy that I just kind of stumbled and fell forward. Luckily Alec caught me, and pulled me back upright.

"Now, bella," he said softly. "None of that. Just take some calm, deep breaths." And, surprisingly, I did. I knew I normally never would have, but arguing just seemed like so much wasted effort.

"Now isn't that better?" he asked, smiling reassuringly and I just nodded in response. "Let's get going, then." He put an arm around my waist and guided me slowly out of the room. I still felt like maybe this was more dream than real. I mean, how many kidnappers kidnap you to what looks like a gorgeous beachfront mansion, tuck you into Egyptian cotton sheets, and make sure you aren't dehydrated?

As we walked I got more and more steady on my feet, but Alec kept a hold of my arm, like a gentleman escorting a lady at some old fashioned ball. Except that I was still in my bounty hunting gear, and he was dressed like a yacht-club member. Wait, no I wasn't. I looked down at myself and stared in surprise. I was wearing a pair of breezy cotton pants and a light blue tank top. My feet were bare, but they had had a damn good pedicure recently. I was so busy staring I stumbled and fell into Alec again. It would have been a great opportunity to shove free and run for it but I was still dizzy. Maybe in a few minutes, when the dizzy goes away...

"Take it easy, bella," Alec chuckled and set me back upright. I nodded, and looked at him again. He hadn't said my name, I realized suddenly. Wasn't that odd?

We wove through a maze of hallways. Or maybe it was one hallway. I couldn't keep track of my surroundings from even one step to the next, so it could have been different dimensions and I wouldn't have been able to say. I yawned and thought how nice it would be to be back on the cloud this time with that mug of hot chocolate I'd wanted. This led my thoughts down other, more interesting paths, and I was in the middle of contemplating the origin of marshmallows when we stopped in front of a door. Alec looked at me seriously.

"Now, this is very important. You have to behave yourself or you'll get another shot. You need to stay awake and explain yourself."

"MMhm," I nodded. Explain myself? What did I have to explain, I wondered. Oh, maybe Ranger was waiting to yell at me for hanging up on him. I hadn't meant to…

Alec walked me through the door and into a library. There were polished wood floors and wooden shelves and lots and lots of books. I really should read more often. A man laughed somewhere to my left and I looked to see who it might have been. It took me a minute to recognize Charles Deering. He had aged since I had seen him, and his once dark hair was now more salt-and-pepper. He looked like a European gentleman, dressed in a casual linen suit, with a closely trimmed moustache and a heavy gold ring on his right hand.

"Good evening, my darling," he said in his pleasant baritone. I bet he was a good singer. "Glad you could join our little party. Care for something to drink?" He gestured to the small tray beside him, holding a variety of crystal or glass pitchers and decanters. The liquids sparkled like jewels in the light, taunting my still dry throat.

"Please," I said softly. Deering smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and handed me a glass of something cool and scarlet. "Thank you," I said my voice quiet and sleepy. "I thought Alec said I had a doctor's visit."

Deering laughed again. "Now if it isn't too much trouble, I need your help to answer a few questions." I tilted my head and frowned a little. I had the distant notion that I wasn't supposed to help him, but he seemed so nice… wasn't he a drug dealer though? Yes, and I had captured him… It all seemed so far a way and distant though. Surely something so long ago couldn't really be important.

"Questions?" I asked, taking a sip of my drink. I sighed in pleasure as the cool sweetness eased the dryness. Deering nodded and came to sit in the chair beside me. He took my free hand in his and fixed me with an intense stare.

"Do you know who you are?" he asked. I blinked and sat back a little. Of all the strange questions…

"Of course I know! I'm-" I stuttered to a halt when no name presented itself as the answer. My hands began to shake, then my entire body trembled. I would have dropped the glass if Alec hadn't appeared just in time to catch it. Charles squeezed my hand and sighed.

"I was afraid of this." He shook his head sadly. "I'm so sorry, my dear. I'm afraid it might have been inevitable…" I stared at him wide-eyed, a wave of panic rising inside me.

"Who am I?" I asked, my eyes beginning to fill with tears. "I caught you when you were-" I stopped. What had he been? I couldn't remember anymore. "I know you?" I looked desperately from one man to the other. "I know you, right? You're Charles Deering, and you are Alec Masters?"

"Don't panic, darling," Charles said calmly. "We will explain everything to you."

"Didn't you kidnap me?" I asked suddenly. "I hung up on someone, and you kidnapped me…" I shook my head and tried to think. Charles' hand touched my chin and tilted my head to look at him again. His kind blue eyes held mine.

"Your name is Serena." His voice was rich and musical. "And you belong here, with us. With me," he added with another smile. "You've just been very sick, love. It will affect your memory for a while, but everything will get better."

I thought about that. Thinking was so much hard work, why did I keep doing it? He was handsome, and kind. And oddly enough he thought I belonged with him. The knot of panic began to loosen and I accepted his words. "Sick?" I asked.

Alec reappeared and handed me a glass of the juice or whatever it was. "Fever, and It's gone on for weeks now. It's affected your memory, but it should be temporary." I breathed a sigh of relief and stared down into the dark crimson liquid, watching the light play across it as I turned the glass.

"Serena…" I mused over my name.

"Serena Darling," Charles said with a note of pride in his voice. I turned the name in my head, examining it like I did the drink. Something about it was a little foreign, but I liked it anyway. Serena Darling, who lived in a palace by the sea, complete with a handsome king. I smiled and looked up into Charles' blue eyes. He smiled and I saw a note of triumph in it. He leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

A thought drifted into my muddled head. Everything had happened so fast... wasn't there something else I was looking for? Wasn't I supposed to be somewhere? Everything was dancing now, and the world was blurring a little, but in a happy way. It was like I was in that place right on the edge of going to sleep when you've lost 10 lbs, found the perfect pair of shoes, got a date with a hot guy, and money in the bank all in the same day. I hadn't been there often before, so it was a nice feeling. "Can I have some ice? I feel dizzy..."

"Take this," Alec said, appearing on my other side, a pair of pills in his hand. "They'll help with the dizziness." I took them and downed them with the remainder of the juice.

"Take her back to her room," Charles told Alec. "I'll have something sent up for lunch." He rose, then helped me to my feet. "Now, darling, go get some rest. And then you can have a visitor this afternoon."

"Visitor?" I asked, swaying slightly and fighting to stay standing.

"Your younger sister. She's very eager to see you again," he said, handing me off to Alec. I shook my head wonderingly. I didn't remember having a sister, at least not one younger. I had a vague idea of there being an older sister, but we were out the door before I got my head and mouth to reconnect. "Haley?" I looked up at Alec as he guided me down the hall. He just smiled.

"She's going to be thrilled you're awake again," he said. "But you can visit later. For now just get some rest. Whenever you wake up, we'll get you ready for visitors."

We were in my room again. How'd we do that? I knew that walk was longer than that... wasn't it? Too much thinking. That was it. Too much. I crawled back into the bed. Time to get back to my cloud.

------------------------------------------------------------------

As I slowly resurfaced back into the land of the living, I wondered vaguely how long I had slept. An hour? A day? It didn't really matter of course, but I felt mildly curious. Truthfully, the way I felt it might have been a week, but at leastI was relaxed. It was heaven. This bed was heaven. This feeling was heaven.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Alec's voice interrupted my happily drowsy train of thought. I sighed and looked to see him leaning against the doorframe.

"'Morning," I replied. "Shower?" I started to sit up as slowly as I could. The dizziness wasn't as bad this time around, so I decided to go for broke and try standing. It was slow going but I managed not to fall over.

While I struggled out of bed Alec walked across the room and opened a door I hadn't noticed. "The shower's in here. Do you need any help?" He asked gently. I took an experimental step, and then another. I didn't stumble, and it was a mostly straight line. Still, I held off my judgement until I was standing next to him.

"I think I'll be fine."

He nodded, and gestured to another door behind him. "There are some clothes in the closet. Call me when you're ready." And he was gone. I sighed, wishing I could move that fast, but I really didn't want to push my luck right now. Maybe later.

My angst over my current lack of agility was cut short when I looked at the bathroom I had just entered. Cool marble, shining silver, mirrors... modern but vaguely old world. Props to the decorator for pulling that one off. There was a large set of cabinets on the wall to my right. The bottom turned out to have a supply of huge and impossibly fluffy towels in coordinating colors, and the top... the top was a further extension of the heaven theory. Stocked full of skin creams, potions, powders, and every type of hair product for curly hair I could ever have imagined, along with several sizes of curling irons and a selection of Clinique make-up. I snagged some expensive-looking shampoo and conditioner, some body wash and jumped into the shower.

Sweet lady but the shower was heavenly as well. Not quite as good as Ranger's but... Ranger.

I dropped my loofah to the floor in shock and watched it lay there as the rest of that thought registered. When had I hung up on him? And for that matter who was he? A friend? Or some product of my fever-induced hallucinations? I bit my lip as I thought about the possibilities. I'd have to ask Charles or Alec. Or my sister. I felt my spirit sink a little under the guilt I felt over forgetting someone like a little sister.

My hair blow dried and gelled into submission, and still feeling like I was getting ready for my own funeral, I padded out to the closet. My enthusiasm for the heaven idea dissipated as I eyed the contents. Dresses. Skirts. A few slacks or cotton pants like I had been wearing when I woke up. I had been hoping for jeans for some reason. I went over my options for several minutes before finally slipping on a cute red sundress with a halter neckline and an almost-modest hem. Checking myself out in the mirror, I couldn't help but smile. It was a nice look for me.

A knock at the door broke my concentration. "Come in," I said, even as I turned and headed toward it.

The door opened to reveal Alec. He took in my change of clothing and smiled appreciatively. "You look beautiful, Serena. Red suits you." I smiled and was about to thank him when he stepped inside to allow someone else through. "Serena, Alia is here to see you," he announced.

A young woman with curly hair a few shades blonder than my own and my own blue eyes stepped inside hesitantly. She wore a white princess lined sundress and her feet bare. Her smile was dazzling and I smiled back. My little sister, Alia. A momentary twinge of doubt entered me when I realized this wasn't the name that had been on the tip of my tongue, but I pushed it away. Later. I'd worry about it later. For now, I did know her, somewhere deep down, and I was genuinely glad to see her.

"I missed you so much!" she cried, rushing forward to engulf me in a hug. I returned it happily.

"Me too. Are you all right?" I inquired, worried that maybe she had been ill as well. She just laughed.

"Of course I am. Alec is here!" She stepped back and took Alec's hand, looking up at him adoringly for a moment before looking back at me. "And now you're better and everything will be so perfect!" I smiled at her and nodded. She was right, it was all going to be perfect. I didn't know what I had been so worried about.

Someone brought us a lunch tray, complete with the divine juice though this time I noticed the faint alcohol taint, and somewhere in between the conversation and the Boston crème cake, whatever few bits of worry I had were eased away again. Alec excused himself to take a phone call in the middle of the meal.

A few minutes after he left, Alia's eyes darted toward the door. "I miss him already! Isn't that so silly?"

I laughed at her, sinking back in my seat. I felt full, and contented and... calm. She seemed pretty calm too, especially for someone who seemed to have such a tremendous inner energy. "It's not silly," I reassured her. "Silly is trying to figure out if someone is real or just a hallucination." Her eyes flew to mine as if I had just grown a second head.

"What?" she asked, clearly startled. I merely laughed and waved my hand through the air.

"There's this guy, named Ranger. I keep thinking about him, mainly thinking I hung up on him for some weird reason, but since I'm so messed up I can't even figure out if he's real or not." I sighed and rested my chin on my hand, regarding her over the remains of dessert. "Do you know him? Is he a friend of mine or something?" Alia frowned and looked thoughtful.

"I don't know. The name sounds familiar. Maybe it was a very long time ago? Back before Mama and Daddy died?" This sat me back in my seat. Our parents were dead? I swallowed hard and shook my head.

"They're dead? I don't even remember them…"

Alia gasped at that and seized my hand where it lay on the table. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think- Oh, forgive me, Serena? I forgot. I'm terrible about that. But don't worry. You'll remember everything again. You'll see! The professor's never wrong about stuff like this."

I sighed and nodded, taking a sip of my drink. I hoped she was right. "Professor?" I asked to distract myself.

"Charles," she laughed, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks. "It is a silly name, isn't it?" I took another sip and laughing.

"Not really. I think it fits." I paused reflecting on the other questions that had been burning in my mind recently. The breeze drifting through the window jogged my memory on at least one of them. "Where are we?" I asked softly.

Alia shrugged. "Goldwater Island."

I just stared at her. "What?"

She had the good grace to look a little sheepish. "The professor's private island. He didn't have a name for it, and Neverland was taken." She made a disgusted face. "I could just kill Michael Jackson for ruining that name."

I poured myself another glass of the drink and agreed with her.

I took another drink and realized my worries had eased away again. It was lovely to sit in the palatial room and look out the huge window at the ocean and the beach and just drift away in thought, or lack of. But glancing at Alia I could see her still trying to think, she'd looked off balance since my question about hallucinations. I wondered at her reaction, but it was hard to really worry as the languor of the tropical sunset seeped into my soul.


	6. Chapter 5: Shadows and Dreams

Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich owns the Stephanie Plum series.

Note: Hope you are enjoying this. Please read and review, okay?

Zoeykitty: I've always thought the whole 'Burg housewife thing was pretty Stepford, and how Steph seems to be always considering 'Burg expectations and marriage. Urgh. I just let Deering push it along.

BGLI: -Grin- See, I told you it wasn't gone forever!!

Valin: Thank you I hope you enjoy it even more this time around.

MysticMagsy: blush Thank you very much!

Chapter 5

Dominic paced the floor of the penthouse apartment. He couldn't sleep, and when he did he found himself dreaming of Haley. Always the same dream, over and over. It was a mission, scouting through a house, stumbling onto a room so dark he couldn't see a hand in front of his face. The darkness was cloying, suffocating and disturbingly alive, but he heard someone crying inside, then a painfully familiar voice calling his name. He stepped inside and nearly stumbled over Haley. He would kneel in front of her, his heart pounding as he realized she was all right, not even a scratch on her. Then he would reach out to wipe away her tears, but she shied away from him, crying harder. He could see her clearly for a moment, see her blue eyes widen with fright, staring at him like he was a stranger. And then she was gone.

Frankly, insomnia was better than having that damned dream one more time, better than seeing the fear in her eyes. That dream was the reason caffeine was invented. Besides, there was plenty for him to stay awake and get done. Like keeping tabs on Alec and keeping Dante from marching in and torturing any and all intel out of the little weasel. No matter how much he wanted to help.

Personally, Dom wouldn't have minded letting Dan and Angel have Alec indefinitely, but Uncle Ric seemed to think keeping the weasel alive and unaware of their suspicions was a better choice at the moment. Good thing he was the top boss, otherwise the guys might have been disinclined to agree. So they watched and waited.

The drop had been a complete waste- nobody even showed up to collect the cash, which could mean a lot of things, none of them good. The only good news was the lack of news at the moment. Four days, and nothing. The fact was they were just happy no Jane Doe bodies had been found in the area that matched the descriptions of the girls.

Dom flopped into the couch with a sigh and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping and he knew damned well his uncle hadn't been either. That was an amusing little factoid- it meant Uncle Ric did have it bad for Stephanie. Tank had told him that she was the reason for the amount of cars they had had destroyed. Even one of Ric's Porsches had fallen victim. This brought the ghost of a smile to his face. Ric had said Steph and Haley were a lot alike, but Dom had the feeling his uncle had no idea just how much alike. If he had he might have given up trying to fight the feelings he was obviously having for the 'Bombshell Bounty Hunter.' Poor guy, Dominic reflected, he was completely unprepared to deal with that breed of girl. Hell, he'd known Haley for about fifteen years and he was still unprepared for her half the time.

Of course, if they didn't get a break soon, Uncle Ric might never get a chance to explain himself. D winced at that idea and the slippery path it led for him as well. He refused to consider the possibility of a world without Haley. He didn't want to imagine it, let along survive in it. Boring, gray, and forgettable, that would be a good description. He pulled his thoughts away and back to the last week.

He had called Jason and had him visit with the caretakers and guardians of Deering's last two girlfriends. The results, well, the results had been bad enough Jason was having nightmares. Jason had been in black ops missions and dealt with things that drove other people off the deep end with disturbing calm. If something gave him nightmares, it was almost past imagining. Dominic thought back to the teleconference with Jason.

"Look, as far as I can tell, Deering didn't play mind games with them, he used them in a series of experiments with various chemical agents." Jason's green eyes were carefully blank, and his voice emotionless.

"Chemical agents?" Ranger asked, his voice and expression as blank as his employee's. Dom knew his own countenance matched theirs and was thankful for it. Right now it was just a mission, just more information. The actual ramifications of this particular intel could be dealt with later. Right now it was time for thought and strategy.

"The women aren't exactly in much of a shape to explain it, but if I had to guess based on their current states, I would say it wasn't just drugs but a process, probably aimed at erasing certain parts of the mind, certain memories or personality traits. Maybe a form of mind control..." for a split second the control slipped and a haunted expression entered Jason's eyes. "There wasn't exactly a lot of their minds left," he blinked and the wall was back up. "The second one mentioned a few things that made me think sensory deprivation chamber might have been used in conjunction with the pharmaceuticals."

Ranger nodded, and forced himself to speak. "Right. Anything else?" he asked, praying that there wasn't. No more horrible possibilities to lurk at the back of his mind. No such luck tonight.

"Each of them was with him for several months, then found wandering the streets. There's no proof he caused the situation and neither woman would testify against him, even if their testimonies would be admissible. They both ask after him, in their more lucid moments," Jason cleared his throat. "Nothing else really. But I'd suggest you find him soon. The guy is twisted, and he's going to twist whoever he has in his grasp until they fit into his world." He paused and seemed to consider his next idea. "I'd venture to guess that this process is what Deering has Alec for. He'd need someone with a chemistry background for this stuff."

Dom was brought back to the present by the sound of the door opening.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" his uncle's voice said quietly as he entered the room. Dom just looked at him skeptically.

"Shouldn't you?"

Ric sighed. "Probably. Alec finally left the hotel. Newark, he left on a chartered jet." Dom was on his feet now, and wide-awake.

"Why the hell didn't we catch that?" he demanded. Ric shrugged.

"Pre-arranged most likely. I've got Bobby getting the company's records, and Ash managed to hit the plane with a tracking device."

"He's been dying to try that," Dom said, and sank back onto the couch.

"Get some rest. It'll take a couple hours to get the information, but we'll leave as soon as it comes in."

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The next morning, I was rudely shaken off my dream clouds by Alia's weight landing solidly in the bed next to me. I was still finding it difficult to wake up, but she seemed to understand and gave me a minute or two to reorient myself.

"Wake up sleeping beauty!" She said brightly. "It's a whole new world!"

"You are mixing up your Disney, chica," I grumped as I sat up rubbing my eyes.

Alia grinned and handed me a glass of water. "Well if you didn't get up soon you were going to be singing 'Under the Sea.'" I refrained from giving in to the urge to throw something at her. I was after all the more mature and responsible one.

Yeah, I know, shut up.

I stood up and stumbled toward the shower. "Give me time. I have morning hair." This earned me a look of sympathy.

"Don't worry. We have the same hair, remember? Take your time. It's not like there's a waiting room full of patients." She called back as she flopped down with an apple from the breakfast tray that had appeared somehow, and a book. Apparently she had been expecting the wait.

The shower helped clear my head of some of the early morning muddles, but I still felt bone tired, So while I combed out my hair, I focused as much as I could on remembering what had happened to me lately. An hour later, my hair was blow-dried and styled, my make-up was done, I was wearing another cute little sundress, I had a raging headache. And I had reached the conclusion that I had no foggy idea where I was, how I got here, or why I was here.

"Where are we going again?" I asked as I walked back into the bedroom.

"Our appointment with the Professor," Alia said, looking up from her book with a smile. "Alec will be here in a minute. I've been wandering around this place forever and I still keep getting lost." She shook her head. "Alec says I have no sense of direction, but he doesn't mind." This thought seemed to cheer her up. "I think they move the hallways, sometimes." I smiled at that idea.

"Hey, you know what you asked, about hallucinating that Ranger person?" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "It gave me funny dreams last night. I kept dreaming about…" she frowned. "About people from back when we lived in the US." Her eyes were cloudy and confused as she continued, "It makes me feel guilty. I should dream about Alec!" she looked dangerously close to tears. "How am I going to make it up to him/"

I put a hand to her shoulder. "Please don't cry," I said desperately. "I shouldn't have brought it up at all, it's my fault for disturbing you with it in the first place." I tried to smile and look reassuring.

Alia sniffled. "I need to talk to the professor," she said quietly. "The dreams felt so real!"

I sat down next to her, pouring us both a glass of orange juice. It tasted a little bitter, but maybe it was just the effects of the toothpaste I'd used. "What did you dream about?" She traced patterns in the tablecloth and refused to raise her eyes.

"Just... stuff," she mumbled. "Playing games and then other stuff. Dancing, sitting around a campfire." When she finally did look up she was obviously guilt-stricken.

"It was only a dream," I reasoned. "You can't control your dreams."

She drank the orange juice slowly. "You're right. But I can't stop thinking now, that I have forgotten something. Something really important."

I yawned and stretched, then smiled at her. "Welcome to my world." She laughed a little at that, so I continued. "It's probably nothing, just some chore or something. You'll figure it out."

Alia sighed, twisting a curl around her finger. "You're probably right."

Alec chose that particular moment to knock on the door, so I let him in, carefully stepping aside as my sister all but tackled him. He laughed, holding her tightly, then lifting her off the ground. She yelped in protest and began wriggling, trying to get down. "Only if you behave," he said, still laughing.

"Don't I always?" she asked, looking up at him with big Bambi eyes. I had taught her that trick, I realized with a start, but I had never mastered them as well as she had. Alec smiled indulgently.

"Not really, no," he said, but he let her down. She laughed at that, stepping away from him as soon as her feet brushed the ground to take my hand.

"We're off to see the wizard," she announced brightly. Alec gave a long-suffering sigh, but I had to laugh.

We made our way down the hall and through a few more hallways decorated with huge mirrors and life size portraits, then down a flight of sweeping marble stairs that led to a cathedral like foyer. The ceiling soared overhead and the intricate mosaics under our feet made my head spin again. I had thought it was a mansion before, but looking around now, 'mansion' didn't do the place justice. It was more like a palace. No wonder Alia always seemed to have visions of fairy tales dancing in her head.

More hallways, more twists and turns brought us to a huge set of carved wooden doors. Alec pushed them open to reveal another library. Or maybe it was the same library, but I couldn't tell. I didn't remember the staircase last time, so it might have been different. I frowned, hating myself for not remembering. I ought to be more aware of my surroundings, an inner voice lectured sternly.

Charles was sitting at his desk, reading a large and impressive-looking book, so I followed my little sister toward him. He looked up, his midnight eyes glittering in the light. "Good morning, ladies," He said in that beautiful baritone. I really did love that voice. How could someone with that voice be bad?

"Good morning, professor," Alia said. "We're here for our appointment."

His smile was affectionate, his voice warm as he looked at her. "I think I might be able to squeeze you in." He gestured for us to be seated in the two armchairs facing the desk, and then rifled through a drawer.

I sat and watched him curiously. He finally produced two files and placed them on the desk. Just looking at the files gave me a wave of nostalgia, but I wasn't sure why. My distress must have registered on my face because in an instant Charles was crouched beside me, handing me a linen handkerchief. "Now, now my girl. None of this. It's just some routine medicine."

I blinked away the tears, dabbing at my eyes. "Thank you. I'm not sure what's wrong with me, I just felt all emotional."

"Perfectly understandable, my love," he said soothingly. "Now watch Alia. She's a pro at this."

I turned to look at my sister who just smiled faintly. She opened her hand to reveal a simple, innocuous pair of white pills before she downed them, chasing it with a glass of water. Deering offered me another set of pills. Mine weren't white, but a pale pink.

"Different?" I asked, taking them and looking at the things curiously.

"Different stages," he said simply. Ah. Like birth control? I almost laughed, but not quite. Instead I accepted a glass of water from Alec and swallowed the pills. Charles nodded in approval, then stood and began speaking to Alec in a low voice. I yawned, suddenly feeling very sleepy. I leaned back in the chair and looked at Haley. She shook her head at me, smiling, and said something, but I didn't catch it. I nodded and let my eyes drift closed, relaxing into the leather.

The RangeMan teams glared unhappily at the map in front of them. If the map had had a lick of human sense or self preservation it would have slid back into its home on the hard drive, packed a small bag and hitch-hiked its way on out the Internet and hidden somewhere in a Russian PC in Siberia. But it didn't possess those survival skills, so it remained where it was blinking cheekily.

Ranger was using a few choice words of Spanish he normally would never have considered speaking aloud. Of course Deering had a private island. And of course that would be where Alec's chartered jet would land. And of course the private island would have to be uncomfortably close to place he felt genetically wary of getting too close to.

"Cuba," Lester muttered, adding a string of unwholesome Portuguese epithets.

"Fucking A," Tank said in agreement.

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	7. Chapter 6: What is Real

Note: Getting almost done with the reposted bits. Thanks everyone for all your help and for slogging through this stuff all over again!

Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich owns Stephanie and company.

Zoeykitty: Don't worry. ;)

RsB: But that would be too easy! lol.

* * *

Part 2

Chapter 6

I leaned back against the sun-warmed stone of the wall, lazily surveying the breathtaking beauty of the island before me, admiring the way the green slopes of the inland gave way to the rocks and pale sands of the beach, and then the glittering sapphire of the Caribbean. The sea breeze drifted over me, gently toying with my chestnut hair, and I smiled happily. Curled up here on the window seat basking in the warmth of the sun it almost seemed too idyllic, too perfect to be my life. And yet it was.

On the terrace my dear Charles and my sister's fiancée were discussing whatever business it was they discussed. I had just finished arranging today's menus with Cook, after my morning workout routine and a consultation with Carlos the head gardener about new flower beds, but now it was time for a few quiet moments of relaxation. Charles insisted I relax as often as possible- my constitution wasn't the best after my last breakdown, and he worried for me. He could be so sweet…

My sister was in the garden below, dancing as she always did. She moved across the open grass with a grace that I always envied, her sun-kissed brown hair flowing behind her like a banner. I closed my eyes, listening to Alia's laughter mingling with the soothing New Age music that was her current love. Sometimes in moments like these I fantasized that I really was living in heaven, that I was dead and I had had another life somewhere else on earth, as someone else entirely, a life full of adventure and danger. It was an amusing game I played, thinking of all the possibilities.

Sometimes I was a spy or a fashion model, and others I was Wonder Woman fighting alongside the Justice League. Alia said the Wonder Woman daydreams were due to my fascination with Batman. I couldn't really argue the point, as I mentally pictured the man my dreams had cast as Batman. Mocha skin, dark Latino eyes, long black hair, rippling muscles, and a rich deep voice that echoed even in my dreams. Odd, though, because I knew Bruce Wayne wasn't exactly supposed to be Hispanic. I often wondered where I had seen him. Probably he was just a male model I'd glimpsed in a magazine and my subconscious had latched onto. I wasn't about to disagree with it; though- it had made a wonderful choice. Maybe I should get it a job as a casting agent.

No, I reconsidered that idea as I recalled the odd dreams where Batman and I discussed his role as Professor Higgins. I wasn't sure, but I was fairly certain that he wasn't what the writers of My Fair Lady had in mind.

"Serena!" Alia's voice interrupted my reverie. I sighed and opened my eyes reluctantly to look down at my sister, who was standing under my window waving madly.

"Yes?" I called back.

"Want to go to the beach? Please?"

"We're having lunch with Charles and Alec, pixie," I replied gently.

"They had to leave. It was an urgent business call. But Enrique is free, so can we?" Her voice was pleading, and she even clasped her hands in the classic begging posture.

Enrique Santos was one of the eight or so guards, a former soldier, and de facto head of security. Although I didn't see what on earth we needed security for, Charles said it was best to be prepared. This probably meant Enrique had something better to do than escort us to the beach and/or entertain Alia all day. I looked down at her upturned, expectant face and sighed, feeling a stab of sympathy for the poor guy- her absolute god given talent was the ability to somehow always get her way. I could count on my fingers the number of times Charles, Alec, and I had ever firmly put a foot down, and those were the combined numbers.

"Let me get my things together. And have Cook pack a picnic lunch."

I was disappointed Charles hadn't said goodbye, but I had apparently fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of my thoughts, so perhaps he simply hadn't wanted to wake me. He would be back soon in any case; he and Alec knew how much both Alia and I depended on their strength and stability at times. On the other hand, there was another perfect day in paradise to enjoy with my little sister.

I slipped into a bathing suit and matching cover-up, taking time to gather up bag of beachfront essentials before I headed downstairs. My sister was already bouncing out the door, picnic basket in hand, engrossed in a mostly one-sided discussion with the unfortunate Enrique. Rico, as she had affectionately termed him had somehow gotten the dubious honor of being her guard of choice, probably thanks to his habit of speaking as little as possible which allowed Alia to chatter at him with minimal interruptions. Enrique was a surprisingly good sport about it, though he had looked thoughtful when Alec offered him danger pay for overexposure to her chatter.

I sighed, watching the pair of them loading the Jeep. Alia was worrying me with her perpetually happy, thoughtless charm. Maybe thoughtless wasn't the right word. It was simply that she wasn't… didn't… I frowned and tried to think myself through this. She wasn't growing up, there it was! It was as if someone had paused her at age sixteen and left her there. Charles kept reassuring me it was her way of coping with the loss of our family, but although I know he knows best about these things I can't help but worry. Then again, I suppose she'll be all right in the end. It isn't as if there was any immediate reason for her to grow up this moment- she wasn't to be married anytime soon. In any case, I took care of the household, Charles and Alec tended the business, the staff kept the island in shape, and Alia made us all smile.

I was pleased with my realization: we all had our roles, and Alia fit hers to perfection. Everything really was perfect. Besides, what would I do with a boring adult sister anyway? Probably go mad and beg Charles to send her away, I thought to myself. It was better that Alia was herself, it kept a smile on everyone's face, relaxed us. I suppose in many ways she was the daughter Charles and I would never have. I relaxed into a happy grin and let Rico's strong arm help me into the Jeep.

"Serena, I can't wait to get there! Rico said there are dolphins! Or was it porpoises? Are you sure it was dolphins, cause they're hard to tell apart, you know. Oh, anyway, some adorable wonderful creature is swimming by the beach, and we _have_ to see them," Alia was talking a rate just under a mile a minute.

"What's for lunch?" I asked by way of distraction, and was rewarded by a peal of laughter from her.

"Serena, you always think about food!"

"Life is less confusing that way," I said primly, trying to hide my smile. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, honestly… and it's some sort of Mediterranean salad sandwich thingys, baklava, and some fruit stuff." I sighed, wondering how it was Alia paid so little attention to the wonderful details like what exactly we were going to be eating. No wonder she was such a dreadful cook.

The tide was out when we arrived, so I unpacked the lunch and a few deck chairs while Rico guided Alia closer to the water. The group of dolphins was playing several yards out, leaving her miraculously speechless for a few moments. Thank heavens. Maybe I should ask Charles about keeping some around the island or something.

I took the few moments of precious quiet to drink in the scene around me: cloudless blue sky, pristine sand, the glittering ocean, the joyful calls of the dolphins, the whispering of the breeze through the palm trees. Poems and paintings were created to celebrate times like this. But something else intruded on my tranquility, something I couldn't name. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I felt a shiver down my spine. I had noticed that this happened every once in a while, some sort of sixth sense to let me know I was being watched. Normally it was Charles or one of the guards, but Charles was gone and I didn't think any of the guards were nearby.

"Enrique!" I called out over the noise of the waves. My tone must have been more upset than I thought, because he was walking towards me before I finished saying his name.

"Anything wrong Ms. Darling?" he asked, his eyes already scanning the surroundings.

I laughed and waved him away, suddenly embarrassed. After all, he was the professional- he would have noticed if anything was wrong much before I did. "No, nothing. I just…" I was so silly! What was I going to say? "I just got a funny feeling," I said lamely. "Is the rest of your team around?"

"No, ma'am." He looked around again, his brown eyes surveying everything carefully. "I don't see anything, and everyone's up at the house getting the monthly supplies unloaded."

Oh. Well, that made sense.

"And there's always the security systems around the perimeter," he added. "No need to worry about anyone sneaking in here," he said confidently.

I let out a sigh of relief. Of course he was right, he knew what he was doing. A good thing we had such capable people taking care of us here. I smiled, nodding thoughtfully. "Thank you, Mr. Santos." I paused, looking down at the thermos in my hand. I was being a dreadful hostess. "Now, do you take sugar?"

"Always," he said, with an odd grin. I smiled, then got down to the business of setting the table. It was always such hard work trying to make a table at the beach look elegant…

The next time I looked up from my handiwork Enrique was walking along the beach scanning the surrounding countryside and Alia was playing some game that involved a complicated string of leaps along the water's edge. I cocked my head and watched her. She finally stopped leaping and twirled around, her expression one of absolute rapture.

She paused finally, standing absolutely still to stare out at the sea for a few heartbeats, before catapulting herself toward Enrique. "Did you see it, Rico? It jumped! It jumped!" He caught her almost reflexively, a moment before she would have hurtled into him, slowing her but still ending up getting hugged. I would have laughed at the shocked expression on his face if I hadn't been so horrified by her actions.

"Alia Jane Darling!" I yelled. "Come help me with this table!" She glanced my way, then smiled up at the guard before pulling away and dashing toward me.

"You saw it too, didn't you Serena? It jumped! It got the message!"

I handed her the salad bowl, shaking my head. "I saw you embrace the guard, Alia," I said quietly. "That is not proper behavior for a young lady, and for one who is engaged," I stressed the word, "it is unthinkable. How could you?"

"He's a friend!" she protested weakly. "I didn't think… wait," she looked up, puzzled, "how do you know I'm engaged? I just got the message from the dolphin!"

I blinked, and tried to ignore the nervous flutter starting in my stomach. "The dolphin asked you to marry him?" She shook her head and laughed happily.

"No silly, the Sea Prince asked me! But of course, he couldn't ask me directly- he sent one of his messengers. The dolphins," she explained, as if any child could understand.

I sank into a chair, feeling weak. I needed Charles for this, or Alec, though Charles would know absolute best. Alia had trouble telling fantasy from reality sometimes, and her flights of fancy would sweep away any silly troublesome bits of reality. She had a tendency to forget Alec, even Charles or the staff, though she usually remembered me. Normally Charles dealt with it, sweeping her off to the lab to run tests or administering medication, but he wasn't here, having left an hour or so ago on business and taking Alec with him. I looked around desperately- I could not cope with this alone, it needed a male touch, surely.

Enrique. My earlier pique was swept away in this new worry, so I beckoned him over. As he approached I turned to my sister, who was sipping a glass of the iced tea, her blue eyes already focused on the sea. "Alia," I said and she turned to look at me. "Alia, who is this?" I asked, gesturing to Enrique. He sat down in his own chair, his eyes sliding between the two of us curiously.

"Rico," she said simply, her smile fond as she looked at him. Not good enough.

"Who is Rico?" I asked. She gave me a pitying look.

"Don Ricardo Carlos de la Vega, member of the Red Guard," she replied, giving her usual perfect inflections to the Spanish language.

I stared at her, and then desperately at Enrique. "More tea?" I asked him, from sheer force of habit, I suppose.

His dark eyes searched my face then glanced at Alia, and back to me. He nodded absently. I poured him a glass, then set about getting everyone served. While I was occupied, Rico's attention was on my sister.

"My name is Enrique Santos," he told her. "You've known me for almost two months." His voice was calm and smooth, carefully neutral. "I'm head of security on the island, for Mr. Deering." Alia laughed at him.

"You're both so odd sometimes," she shook her head. "Don Ricardo, you are captain of the Red Guard, marshal of the forces of High Castle, as you have been for years."

I sighed, and hoped my Charles would get back soon, preferably before Alia decided to swim away with a dolphin or renamed half the staff.

"High Castle?" Enrique asked her, leaning forward his eyes intent on her.

'Don't encourage her!' I whispered as I walked back to my seat, but he didn't pay any attention.

"The capital of our kingdom," Alia explained, pointing back toward the mansion. "Sometimes it's called the Island of Dreams," she added somberly.

"Ahh, of course," Enrique said. He was smiling now, obviously enjoying the complexity of Alia's fantasy. I glared at him, but said nothing. I didn't like him enjoying something that was so painful but I couldn't blame him either- her 'flights of fancy' were certainly intricately designed, sometimes with small details of reality woven in. "And why is being called the Island of Dreams such a bad thing?" he asked, his tone conspiratorial. Alia's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Don't you know?" she glanced at me. When both of us shook our heads she sighed heavily. "Dreams, sillies. Dreams. Not daydreams! Real true dreams." She shivered and looked off into the distance.

I felt the chill myself, and looked down at my half-eaten lunch, noticing I really wasn't hungry anymore.

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Enrique lay back on his bed with a sigh of relief. The monthly supply drop was always a nightmare but today had had the added weirdness of Alia fading into one of her dream worlds. He had heard about her instability from some of the house servants, but hadn't really believed them. He'd thought she was a justifiably bored kid with an active imagination. Until she declared him to be Don Ricardo Carlos and started chatting excitedly about an engagement to the Sea Prince, delivered via Dolphin Express.

Her blue eyes had been crystal clear, shining with happiness, something he hadn't seen in her very often before. Well, she had been happy until she talked about the island being the 'Island of Dreams.' Her eyes had clouded over, and he had seen the fear in them as she looked around. Real fear, the kind that woke you up at night, covered in cold sweat, screaming till your throat gave out. That was what bothered him the most, oddly enough, not the fantasy world but the fear in her. Girls living in a sheltered corner of paradise, enjoying every comfort money could buy, shouldn't have nightmares like that, shouldn't be driven into a fantasy world by… what? What had driven her into that world? He put a hand over his eyes and considered the situation.

Her sister was stable enough. A little weak physically, but certainly happy. Serena was the Lady of the House, though she left most decisions up to the housekeeper. But he also knew that personally, he didn't like being around her very much. Something was off about Serena. It was almost as if she was… hiding herself, he thought. Every once in a while there was a glimpse of who was really under the manicured veneer- a headstrong woman with an uncanny sense of her surroundings, not the pampered and eager-to-please girlfriend. No, reflecting on the day's events, he was relieved. The feeling that something was not right here had plagued him since the day he arrived. And today just proved he had made the right choice.

A sound so soft he almost didn't hear it caught him mid-thought and he sat up, a knife in one hand, his gun in the other.

"Getting soft, Rico," a familiar voice taunted. Enrique smirked.

"Shut up, Lessie-boy, or I might forget I invited you here."

His only reply was a derisive snort before the man stepped out of the shadows and slumped into the chair by the bed. "You were right, bro." Lester said quietly. "You were right to call me down. We're gonna be owing you for this one."

"She knew you were there," Rico said, ignoring his brother's comment. Lester's head shot up.

"What? Who?"

"Serena." His brother's face looked blank. "The older one. She asked me if anyone was around."

"She's good," Les said with an almost-laugh, then he quickly sobered. "At least she was in another life."

"So they the ones?" Rico asked, eager to know if his idea had been correct.

"Yeah," Les sighed, shaking his head almost mournfully. "Yeah, they are. I gotta call Ric."

The memory flashed through Enrique's brain again. "What's Ric's middle name?" Lester raised an eyebrow.

"Carlos," he said, "Why?"

"Alia. She called me Ricardo Carlos today. Don Ricardo Carlos de la Vega, actually," he winced as he said it.

"Any reason?" Les was frowning as his thoughts began racing.

"She, uh…" Enrique looked at his brother helplessly. How to explain this one? "She tends to make up her own reality sometimes. But I thought that her using that name was a little odd."

Les groaned as he remembered Jason's report on the previous victims. He looked back at his cell phone warily. This wasn't going to be an entirely pleasant call. "Fuck…"


	8. Chapter 7: New Leads

Note: Thank you everyone for all the helpful comments, reviews, etc. Please keep 'em coming!

k4writer02: Thank you! Wow, the first JE fanfic? Try www.plumcrazy.ws if you want a huuge selection or the Yahoo groups. Warning: Plum fanfics are addicting. As for the teddy bear of mysterious origins... I'll think about it. ;)

zoeykitty: here you go! thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich still owns all this stuff. Well, except maybe the original characters, but I'm sure we could work out a deal on them. Like, say, all of them for Ranger? Ok, Lester. How about that? Or Tank?

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Chapter 7

Deering's island had been a false lead. Deserted. The pilot of the chartered flight had seen a seaplane waiting for his passenger, but hadn't seen any identification on it. The entire case had stalled and the future wasn't looking bright. As far as the 'Burg was concerned Stephanie was in Miami working undercover for RangeMan and Haley's family thought the girl was on a trip to France with her longtime best friend Erin, who Dominic had called on to help keep the ruse.

Dante had spent the last two months leading a team of Ranger's best hackers through the mountains of financial transactions and histories of both Charles Deering and Alec Masters. The rest of Dom's team had headed back to St. Louis to spend that time combing the streets, calling informants, occasionally beating bits of information out of those reluctant to talk. Ranger, Lester, and Tank were doing a similar routine in Trenton, but keeping as low a profile as possible.

The picture they were getting wasn't pretty and what information they had found was not something to discuss in a vid-conference.

Ranger looked at the clock on the wall. They should be arriving in about half an hour. His eyes came to rest on the stack of files Dante had left with him before he returned his attention to the computer screen. Lester's brother Enrique had called a month ago to check in and to ask Les if the 'Bombshell Bounty Hunter' was doing overseas work for RangeMan now. He was working as head of security for a rich guy in the Caribbean, and one of the chicks he was guarding looked just like her. At Lester's request he'd sent a couple surveillance photos for evidence.

Les had been on a plane within an hour, but it had taken several weeks to arrange how to get to the island without being noticed. Now Lester's report was sitting in front of him, and the tiniest part of Ranger's mind almost wished it wasn't. Almost. Ranger scanned the file again and fought the urge to send the computer crashing through the window. He could still remember the relief he'd felt when he saw the pictures of Stephanie and Haley- it had nearly knocked him off his feet:

That had been a month or more ago. Now the relief was quickly being replaced with a sick feeling of dread, the feeling that had been consuming him since Stephanie disappeared, since this whole fucked up mess started. The source of the feeling were the photos accompanying the report, which were more detailed and better quality than the routine surveillance footage they'd had before. Looking over them though, the urge to shred them was making his hands itch. Instead he forced himself to look closer. Stephanie was thinner, and she somehow just looked smaller, younger. It made the similarity between her and Haley even more pronounced, to the point that they could have been mistaken for twins. The thing that got him was in her eyes- limpid and cool, with only the barest hint of the sparkle he'd cherished in his Babe. Serena Darling was staring up at him through Steph's bright blue eyes.

Unable to look at Stephanie any longer knowing what was in Lester's report, and seeing the proof in the pictures, he turned his attention to Haley. She had always looked young and a little vulnerable, had always been a little thin. Again, it was her eyes that showed the problem. There was a disturbingly empty quality to Haley. Ranger turned the pictures face down and closed his eyes against the images still burned into his retinas, fighting to push the words from the report out of his head.

He thought of his nephew. Dom had held up well the last couple of months, putting on a very good show, but Ranger knew what was going on behind that mask. How would he handle the report? Ranger sighed and put his head in his hands. How would he handle it if it were Steph that had stopped understanding reality? And who could say she hadn't- that Steph wasn't just as lost as Haley?

There wasn't time for this now. Not when they were so close to the end. He stood up and headed down the hall to the meeting room, files in hand.

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"Uncle Ric," Dominic said with the ghost of a smile. "Any news?"

Ranger held his face still and emotionless. "Yes. You?"

Dom gave a barely perceptible nod. "Just background."

"Old business first," Bobby suggested. Ranger inclined his head, giving his nephew permission to start. Dom looked resigned.

"You all know Dante and his guys found out Deering and Masters partnered up about three years ago," he began. "Actually it was just before he started dating Haley. It was also not long before Jeanette, the first of Deering's girlfriends, started showing signs of her mental breakdown.

"It doesn't take a lot of intel to figure out why a drug dealer and a soon-to-graduate chemistry major would buddy up, but the word on the street has been that they're not just in it for narcotics... " Dom paused and picked up a file, handing it to Ranger. "This is from Deering's psychiatrist. He has control issues, a perfectionist streak, a fucking bad temper and a recent hang up on finding the perfect companion. Apparently midlife crisis has hit and he wants the whole Pleasantville life."

Ranger handed the file to Bobby and looked back at his nephew. "And he decided to make a perfect companion?" he ventured, remembering the photos.

"That's what we're guessing. He's apparently designed some fairly powerful drugs that affect the parts of the brain that store memory. In combination with something to lower aggression, antidepressants, tranquilizers..." the young man shrugged. "Kind of a Stepford cocktail."

"Creepy," Tank muttered, which seemed to sum up the feelings of the entire group.

Ranger gave the guys a few minutes to digest the information, which backed up everything Lester had sent so far, before passing out copies of the report. "Lester sent this in a few hours ago. It would appear we have them." They guys were staring at him warily, unwilling to risk getting excited over another false lead. None of them were opening the files.

"What's the catch?" Bobby asked. He knew Ranger, knew something had to be seriously wrong for news this big to be presented so quietly. If they really had a strong lead, there would have been a lot more joy, and Ric would have been looking a hell of a lot happier.

Ranger glanced at his nephew before replying. Dom's eyes were darkened and narrowed, wary of what was coming. He looked back at Bobby. "Deering's techniques seem to be working." He flipped open the laptop in front of him, and pushed a few buttons. A projection hit the wall in front of the table. "Guys, meet Serena and Alia Darling," he said, purposefully keeping himself from really seeing the pictures again. He knew what they looked like.

"It's Stephanie and Haley," Dante said and looked back at his boss, obviously confused. Ranger nodded.

"Correct. Deering's apparently found out a way not only to repress, but also rearrange memories, creating entirely new identities. You'll find profiles of both of them in your files. Memorize them. When we go in, we'll be dealing with Serena and Alia." He looked around to make sure this was understood. "Stephanie and Haley might have been kidnapped and held hostage, but as far as Serena and Alia are concerned the island is their home, Deering is their benefactor. So be prepared for resistance on their parts." He pushed a button, revealing a schematic of the island.

"Alec hired Enrique Santos as head of security a couple months ago, and he's working with us on this. These are the maps he's provided. There's also full blue prints of the main house, outbuildings, security codes, and locations of cameras are marked in red."

"We gonna get to blow anything up?" Tank asked, already studying the maps intently.

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Enrique sat in his apartment pouring over the plans and maps scattered across the table, his brother sitting opposite him as they discussed the situation quietly, using both Portuguese and English. The knock on the door sent both men leaping to their feet, guns in hand..

Enrique waved his brother back into the bedroom, and stalked toward the door. "Who is it?" he called, releasing the safety on the gun. No reply. He scowled and checked the peephole. Alia stood outside the door, clutching what looked suspiciously like a teddy bear. Just when this day couldn't get any fucking weirder... he replaced the safety and slid the gun into the back of his pants before opening the door. "Can I help you?" he asked, trying not to sound annoyed. She bit her lower lip and hesitated before speaking.

"Can I come in?" she asked meekly. He noticed with a start that her cobalt blue eyes were rimmed in red and her cheeks were still wet with tears. Without really thinking about it, he reached out and pulled her inside.

"What's wrong?" he asked, placing a hand at the small of her back to direct her to the sofa.

"I shouldn't have come..." her voice was soft, barely above a whisper, but she sank onto the overstuffed cushions.

"You're here, though," he said gently. "Do you want something to drink?" She shook her head, and toyed with one of the teddy bear's fluffy brown ears. "Alia? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but it's the middle of the night, and..." a thought occurred to him, "Did you get lost?"

"Lost..." she echoed. "Yes, you could call it that...."

Christ. She was having another episode. He sighed heavily. "Who am I?" he asked, his eyes flicking back to the door to his room, knowing his brother to be hidden in the shadows. Alia quirked an eyebrow at him.

"That's the second time you've asked me that, Don Ricardo," she said quietly. He shook his head; at least she was consistent... "Or is it the first?" she asked, her eyes clouding over, filling with tears. He blinked, surprised at that. She was having memory problems, maybe?

"No, it's not the first," he reassured her. "You were right. I asked you earlier," he said quickly. He watched the relief wash over her, but then she curled up, her hold on the bear tightening.

"I can't tell sometimes," she said, her voice thick with unshed tears. "I think I've done something before but I haven't... I have all these _memories_," she stressed the word, "but they never happened. I know people I've never met. I can't tell it all apart ... Sometimes it's all so real and then I wake up and it was only a dream, or I feel like I'm dreaming but it's real..." her voice caught on a sob as the dam broke, the tears beginning to stream down her face.

"Shit," Enrique cursed, and dashed to the bathroom, retrieving a box of tissues. He handed it to the sobbing girl on the couch, before placing his gun on the coffee table. He sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her slender shoulders. "You're awake now, I promise."

"I t-told you I shouldn't have c-come," she choked out between sobs. Almost reflexively he held her tighter.

"No. It's fine... but why did you? Shouldn't you talk to somebody about this? Maybe your sister?" he said hopefully, glancing at the bedroom where Lester was hidden. Alia made a sound that might have been a laugh.

"Serena thinks we're dead," she said, her voice surprisingly bitter. He hadn't thought she was even capable of that emotion. But her revelation was even weirder. And here he'd thought Alia was the crazy one...

"Alia, what are you talking about?" He glanced again at the door to the bedroom, wondering what Les was thinking about this conversation.

"She doesn't say it really," she admitted, wiping a few tears away. "But she's always talking about how wonderful it is here, how heavenly. She thinks we live in Paradise. Our own slice of Heaven. But you have to be dead for that, don't you?" she sobbed. She raised her eyes to his, and there was desperation in them.

"I'm sure she's not being literal," Rico said gently. "She's just meaning that she likes it here."

Alia sniffled, wiping her cheeks with a tissue. "The Dragon King hath her in thrall," she said softly, her voice raw. He shook his head a little, regarding the girl beside him curiously.

"Why come to me, princess? I'm a stranger here," he prodded when she remained silent.

"You... remind me of someone," she looked at him through the tears. "I think I met him once, somewhere else. He made me laugh." The tears coming more slowly now.

"Do you remember his name?"

"He was a knight, I think. Like you. Maybe his name was Lancelot..." she smiled faintly. He smiled back at her.

"Probably not," he said. She laughed at that.

"No, probably not. But it's a good name for a knight," she said with a shrug. He hugged her again, relieved to be done with the crying jag. Crying females made him nervous. Bullets, explosions, knife fights- all of these things were easier to deal with than one small female in tears.

"I'll be right back," he said, and headed back to the bathroom.

He came back carrying a damp washcloth, which he handed to her. She smiled gratefully.

"Thank you," she whispered, placing it over her eyes and laying back against the armrest. Several minutes passed in silence, until he wondered if she had fallen asleep. He was about to wake her when she took the cloth off her face.

Her blue eyes were unreadable as she looked up at him. "Just one more question, and I'll go."

"Shoot," he said, watching her closely.

"Who am I?" she asked. He sat back, surprised at the directness. Now wasn't the right time for the truth, so...

"Yourself," he replied after a moment of thought. Her eyes narrowed then her lips quirked in a half smile.

"You are about as helpful as a Unicorn," she said resignedly. Somehow it didn't sound like a compliment. He smiled.

"Who did you mean earlier, when you mentioned the Dragon King?"

She tilted her head, looking at him curiously. "Do you know not who is lord and master in this place?" she said, sounding as if she were reciting the line. "Who else would rule an island of dreams and illusions?"

"Deering, then."

Alia smiled faintly and swung her feet to the floor, springing easily to her feet. She bowed her head graciously. "Thank you for your hospitality and the friendly ear, Don Ricardo. I'll leave you to your rest now."

"I'll walk you back to your room.". After a moment he added, "I'm here whenever you need to talk." She nodded again, then turned and walked through the door.

The walk to her apartment was a silent one. Alia was so exhausted she looked almost asleep on her feet, and Enrique was busy with his own thoughts. Back in his rooms, he found Lester seated on the couch, a large glass of brandy in hand. Enrique raised an eyebrow.

"I needed a drink," his brother said. "She's totally lost the whole concept of reality. That was the most fucked up conversation I have ever heard..."

Enrique shrugged. "Actually that was pretty lucid compared to earlier. But there's hope- she said something about other memories."

"Yeah," Lester admitted. "But I don't think they've invented the kind of counseling she's gonna need." Enrique thought about this for a minute, and walked into the kitchen to pour a drink for himself.

"You met her before all this, didn't you?" he asked. Lester's answering nod was barely perceptible. "What was she like?"

"Bouncy, less crazy. She'd just landed a waitress job the first time I met her. This new club in Trenton-"

"I take it you and the rest of those thugs you work with decided it was time for a new hangout?" Enrique put in.

Lester looked up, a wolfish grin firmly in place. "Shorty's ain't got nothing to compete with a view like that."

Enrique rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the plans lying on the table. "We can drug the security teams. None of them are worth the bullet it would take to kill them, so why make a job harder than it has to be."

"What about the girls?" Les asked. "We don't know what he's got them on already. We can't risk a bad reaction."

"They should be asleep. Even if they aren't, Alia probably won't be much of a problem. Serena, though... her I don't know about. She don't associate with nobody outside of the Bosses and her sister."

"Try talking to Haley about her," Les said without thinking. Rico just stared at him. "Um, Alia. Sorry. This multiple personality name thing is fucking messed up."

"The whole thing is fucking messed up." Rico tossed back the rest of his drink.

"I think the term we're looking for is FUBAR," Les sighed and finished his own glass.


	9. Chapter 8: In the Dark

Note: Thanks to everyone for all the feedback.

Shivy: Wow. Thank you!! Hope you enjoy the rest of it just as much! .

Disclaimer: Janet still owns the Plum series.

Chapter 8

The scene in front of me was better than any soap opera, although it certainly seemed like it would have fit right into one. I glanced over at Charles, and caught a similarly bemused expression in his midnight eyes. I bit my lower lip and looked back to the couple standing a few yards away. It wasn't my place to intervene, but maybe if I asked him he would...

"My darling, I think perhaps we ought to give them some privacy," he said quietly. I looked at him again, this time in disbelief. Alec's voice was rising in volume with each breath, and Alia was visibly trembling. Leave them alone like this? It didn't sound like a good idea. Not that I thought Alec would hurt her- well, not physically. I risked a glance at the pair. At least he wouldn't normally, but seemed so very angry....

"Charles dear are you certain? 'Lia is not used to this much," I struggled to find a word as I watched the fighting continue, "conflict. Aren't you worried for her stability?"

Charles sighed and shook his head. "Of course I am, and I will give Alec a strong reminder of that issue as soon as he calms down. But interfering now will do nothing but anger him further...." His dark blue gaze locked with mine before he continued, "And can you honestly say you blame him? He has been nothing but understanding of her condition, and she treats him in such a way!" I bowed my head, accepting the truth of his statement, but I couldn't refrain from at least attempting to defend my sister.

"But isn't her condition exactly what has triggered her actions? She doesn't understand what he's upset about! You know she wouldn't have done any such thing if she were herself."

Charles took my hand and held it tightly. "My darling, our precious 'Lia has not been herself in a very long time," he said in his quiet, gently voice, and I felt a chill run down my spine that I didn't want to think about. Instead, I looked back at the couple. Alec was waving his arms around, yelling now.

"How could you? How could you do this to me again?" he demanded, and when Alia didn't reply he grasped her shoulders shaking her. "Do you hate me that much? Are you that ungrateful for the life I've given you... You have everything. You're happy. And you still do this! It's never fucking enough for you is it?"

Again, he had said. Again... Yes, I thought, looking at Alec's tall lanky frame, as he stood towering over my sister. This had happened before. I had seen it. But when? This was ridiculous, it couldn't have happened before. I didn't remember anyone ever yelling at Alia.

She was sobbing, covering her face with her hands, shaking her head. I couldn't bear it any longer and turned away, looking back at Charles. I nodded once, and we rose from our seats and went inside. He closed the French doors behind us with a final, almost ominous click. I risked one last look back through them. It was easier without hearing it, but it was still unnerving.

Charles asked me about dinner and my plans for the garden. We had an entire conversation, and my mind was still on the scene in the garden. As if sensing my unease, he put an arm around me and guided me down the hall to the parlor. We relaxed on the sofa there, Charles' arms around me protectively as he kept the topics deliberately light and easy. One of the maids brought a tray in for lunch, along with my pills. Thank god! I was so frazzled I felt like my skin was about to explode!

As we talked, the horror and discomfort of earlier faded away under the influence of the marvelous food and the medication. Some time later Charles was telling me about their latest business trip to the Virgin Islands when Alec entered, alone and remarkably calmer.

"Serena, why don't you go check with Francois about dinner?" Charles asked. I nodded my assent and rose quickly, heading for the doors without another look at Alec.

I heard them talking softly as I closed the doors behind me. I know it was wrong, and terribly rude, but I couldn't help pausing to listen. Just for a moment...

"It's no use. We have to increase her dosage. Why can't she just be like Serena?" Alec complained.

"She isn't Serena, my boy. That's why. You pay the price for your mistakes, you know. But not to worry, I'm sure it will all straighten itself out eventually... " he paused and I heard him sigh deeply. When he spoke again he sounded tired, as if this were an old discussion, "If only you had taken her idiosyncrasies into account beforehand."

"Stop reminding me!" Alec growled. There was silence for several beats. "I'm beginning to think it's not possible... it's like she's incapable of forgetting."

"She will forget, son. You must learn patience," Charles said calmly. "Have some brandy... Have you seen the reports from Cuba lately/" And with that the discussion turned to business. I decided Francois could handle dinner on his own, I needed to lie down and think. What on earth wasn't Alia forgetting?

She forgot everything on a nearly daily basis!

Alec was giving her more medication... maybe that was good. Surely it couldn't hurt matters. She had wounded him with her thoughtless actions last night- maybe the shock of their fight and meds would make her think a little more about other people and less about her dream worlds. I had always wondered though, why she always forgot Alec in those other worlds she lived in. I knew that always hurt him. She would remember Charles and I, members of the staff... but not Alec. Never Alec.

Back in my room, I lay down on my bed, face down in the pillows, and tried to sort it all out. Why did she always forget Alec? Why did I keep seeing flashes in my head of someone else yelling at her? And what was Alia failing to forgive Alec for? What was she refusing to forget? What was Francois going to make for dinner?

Eventually I fell asleep, my mind still a tangle of questions with no answers.

I was dragged out of a disturbing dream where I was forced to drive a revoltingly huge blue car when one of the maids arrived in my room bearing the answer to my last question: a tray of chicken cordon bleu, sautéed asparagus, salad, and raspberry sorbet. Ah, I knew he could handle dinner on his own, and handle it brilliantly. French chefs are good like that.

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Charles left the next morning for Cuba, and I didn't see Alia for two days. I even sought out Enrique Santos and asked him, but he said he hadn't seen her since the night she'd shown up at his room- the night that had sent Alec into his rage.

He frowned at looked at me incredulously. "You mean you don't know where she is, ma'am?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No. I haven't seen her since we left them to fight it out on the terrace."

"Why would you think I would know?" His expression was cautious, and almost too blank.

"She..." I stopped. I didn't have a good answer for that one. "You're the head of security. And you are supposed to be her body guard," I said finally, and added a hint of reproach for good measure. Santos didn't seem phased.

"I had one of the guys take over for me on that bit. She was getting a little too attached."

I rolled my eyes. "Well fine, does your guy know where she's at?" I demanded.

"Why don't you ask him?" Santos asked evenly. I blinked. What? The security guards were not members of the staff I had to associate with. I wasn't comfortable with them for one and for two I had enough to deal with keeping the main household running.

"I'm asking you," I said curtly. "You are the head of security. Where is my sister? And if you don't know, then I suggest you find her. Quickly."

And with that I spun on my heel and left the guardhouse, heading across the lawn to the mansion. Was it really that hard to find good help now? I was so steamed that by the time I reached the foyer I wasn't even paying attention to where I was going, and had a resulting collision with Alec that sent us both crashing to the floor.

"Fuck," he swore, once we both came to the realization we were on our butts on the middle of the room. I winced, but didn't correct him.

"Are you all right?" I asked. "I'm so sorry- it's my fault! I wasn't watching where I was going..."

"It's ok, Serena," he said with a sigh and picked himself up wearily. "I wasn't either."

He helped me to my feet and it wasn't until I was fully upright I noticed the dark circles under his green eyes, and the rumpled look of his suit.

"Are you well?" I asked him. I received a half smile in reply.

"Not sleeping too good."

I didn't sympathize with him. I still wasn't overly happy with the way he'd spoken to Lia even if she had deserved it.

"Have you seen my sister?"

Alec sighed. "She's fine. Nothing to worry over."

"Where is she?" I tried again.

"Sleeping. We decided to try a new treatment, something to straighten her out a little," he said with a shrug. I didn't like the way he said 'straighten her out,' though.

"Sleeping where? And what do you mean?"

"Serena," he said gently, "it's nothing for you to worry yourself over. Alia is fine, and hopefully she'll get better soon. Isn't that something to be happy about? Maybe you should plan her a party."

I turned this suggestion over in my head. A party would be fun to plan, especially if it was celebrating my sister's recovery... "But where is she, Alec?" I asked, meeting his eyes, my own were wide and upset. "She's all I have aside from Charles! Where is she?"

"Safe. Don't worry about it- she should be up and around tomorrow. For now she needs her rest." He grinned, giving his features a boyish charm. It made it hard to scold him. I took a deep breath, but let it go. There was no reasoning with Alec sometimes.

"Fine. But warn me about these things! I've been an absolute wreck."

Alec just laughed. "I'll be leaving in a couple hours, and I'll be gone for a few weeks. You two are going to be on your own, but have Santos call me if there are any problems with Alia."

"Have you heard from Charles?"

"He's fine. Just hit a few diplomatic snags is all," Alec said with a shrug. "It might take a couple weeks there too. Just don't redecorate the place while we're gone."

I laughed. "Never..." and then I gave him a grin to let him know he'd given me an idea.

He just shook his head, looking resigned.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite his claim to Serena, Enrique was anything but unconcerned with Alia's sudden disappearance. And he knew exactly where she was. She hadn't come out of the laboratory yet. The ideas of what could be going on in there were starting to give him nightmares.

This was why he didn't like security. Combat was one thing- you saw nightmarish things in a war zone, it was because it was war. Shit happens in war, and normal rules don't apply, but it's accepted. People got hurt, soldiers or innocent civilians, but it was understandable in a way. But this island wasn't a war zone, and there wasn't armed conflict or guerilla fighting... This was something else, something that made even his mercenary sensibilities want to throw up.

He shoved the thoughts away and looked back at his brother, his expression grim. "No, Les," he said, "It's too risky. You are not putting the op in jeopardy to go in there and play hero." Lester scowled at him.

"This whole damned thing is about playing hero," he growled. "And we need to know what the fuck is going on in there."

"Can't risk you getting caught in there."

"Look, Masters is leaving in a couple hours, and that prize patrol you call security teams here are all busy chasing tail or passed out on the beach with a bottle of rum. The only person who'll know I'm there is you.

"And while we're at it, why did you lie to Serena about changing Alia's bodyguard assignment?"

Enrique winced at the mention of the condition of the island's security force. Of course it was what was making the whole charade ridiculously easy, but it was a matter of professional pride. In answer to his brother's question he shrugged helplessly. "I meant to. Just haven't gotten around to it."

"Assign her to me," Les suggested with the beginnings of a wolf grin. Enrique's eyebrows raised.

"Don't' tell me you been hitting the rum, too."

"Nah. I'm here as a new recruit, remember? Send me in as the bodyguard."

"You completely lost it, bro? What if she remembers you and sends up the alarm?"

"Who'd believe her?" Les countered. "She ain't the most credible 'round here."

"Point taken. But how does that let you into the lab?" Les's grin widened.

"I'm the new guy. How am I supposed to know?"

"Christ. You're going to get us killed."

"You've been saying that for a while now."

Enrique laughed and reached across to give his brother a brotherly slap upside the head. Les retaliated with a slap to the arm. A small scuffle and several colorful curses in both English and Portuguese later, Lester Santos made his way through the downstairs hall of the main house.

He subtly avoided being caught by the cameras as much as possible, more out of habit than any desire for secrecy. Besides, it would give him something to rib Enrique about later.

Thoughts of his brother drifted away as he examined the room they had seen Haley dragged into. It was a simple, run-of-the-mill study. A large mahogany desk dominated the room on one end, and on the other a fireplace and an assortment of wingback chairs. Bookshelves lined the entire room.

It sure as hell didn't look like any laboratory he'd ever seen. All right, so there was probably a hidden door. Lester fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course there was a hidden door: an old mansion on a private island, site of a dastardly plot. How could there not be some cliché hidden laboratories and secret passages scattered in?

He pressed a button on his walky-talky. "Nothing here, sir," he said. "Just an office."

"You sure? That's the last known location. Do your job, I am not here to do it for you." Les glared at the machine in his hand and flipped it off.

"Saw that, soldier," Enrique's voice growled through the radio.

Fucker. He'd known damned well what was going on! Les snorted. Typical of his darling brother to leave him the hard part... Mentally cursing in his most inventive Portuguese, he took another look around, his eyes finally settling on the fireplace. It was conspicuously out of place in the middle of the Caribbean... and wasn't that where the hidden door was in Indiana Jones? He stalked toward it, analyzing each detail of the design carefully.

Les was still investigating the problem when the radio beeped. He straightened up and wandered over to check out one of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. He was just staring blankly at something called "Leaves of Grass" when the door opened.

"Can I help you?" Alec Master's voice demanded. Les schooled his face into a blank professional stare and nodded.

"Hector Gonzales, sir,' he said. "Santos just assigned me to bodyguard duty for Ms. Darling."

Alec eyed him curiously. "The new guy," he said finally. "And you're looking for Alia?"

Lester nodded. "I didn't get my assignment 'til today. Can't seem to find her," he said, looking nervous. Alec smiled sympathetically.

"She can be a little hard to pin down sometimes. But you're in luck- she's in the lab for treatment. She'll be out tomorrow most likely." And with that he walked to the desk, Lester clearly being dismissed.

Les ambled out of the room and a short distance down the hall before he turned on the spy cam he'd slipped into the bookshelf. It was a nifty little thing Ash had thought up, and it reported to the small 'customized' PDA he now held in his hand. That kid was going to be down right scary in a few years, Les thought with a smile as he watched Masters open the fireplace by poking the gargoyle on the mantle in the eye. Geez, this place would have made Vincent Price so proud.

Now to wait for Weasel to vacate the premises.


	10. Chapter 9: Illusions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Stephanie Plum universe, the characters, or places therein. I'm just playing with it for my own amusement. I do own Haley, Enrique, and the St. Louis peoples. But if someone really wants them, I'm sure we could negotiate a deal. Lol.

**Note:** Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments and reviews. I'm flattered people are actually reading this AND enjoying it. Please continue to tell me your thoughts, etc

_Shivy:_ Sorry, but your review confused me (granted, it's easy to do, lol). Stephanie was the one narrating the last chap, until Rico's part. As for Ranger he will be back in the next chapter. If you were asking about R/S interaction? That's for later. Hopefully :)

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Chapter 9

Lester carefully made his way back down the shadowed hallway to the study. Once inside he shut the heavy oak door behind himself and crossed the plush Oriental carpet to where the spy cam remained hidden beside the battered copy of "Leaves of Grass."

A smile crossed his tanned features as he replaced the gadget in his pocket. 'Candy from babies,' he thought, walking toward the large fireplace. He reached up to the small gargoyle statue residing on the mantle and poked it in the eye. The back of the fireplace obligingly slid out of view to reveal a set of shallow steps leading down to the hidden laboratory. He was halfway expecting cobwebs and maybe a few flickering torches, but it was actually lit with recessed lighting, and not a cobweb in sight. Maybe not so Vincent Price after all.

He pulled his gun from its holster, released the safety, and began his descent. No boogey men or Frankenstein monsters leapt out at him as he came to the foot of the stairs, instead he found himself standing on a platform overlooking the room below- a large and obviously high tech lab. Overly white, shiny, and frighteningly sterile. There was a large assortment of tubes containing a variety of substances scattered across one table, a bank of computers, and what looked like a large deep freeze at the far end of the room. The one thing missing was any sign of Haley.

Lester took his time on the stairway leading to the ground floor, moving cautiously and keeping his weapon ready, but no attackers or alarms went off. Reaching the floor, he slid the gun back into the holster but didn't fasten it in. Then he headed for the computers and hooked in the small PDA device Ash had given him. There was the hum of the computers gearing up and a whir as the modem kicked in. Dante had said the thing would connect anywhere on earth, but Lester had his doubts. No way could the little piece of plastic and silicone be connecting to anything from a secure bunker underneath an island in the middle of the damned Caribbean...

"You've got mail!" the piece of plastic and silicone chirped happily.

Lester rolled his eyes. Space age technology at its best. He typed in the commands and blinked in disbelief as the PDA quickly bypassed any and all demands for passwords or security procedures, starting the file transfers immediately. 'Wonder if this thing works that well on all systems,' he thought, the possibilities of banks flitting through his mind. Les shook his head to bring himself back to the current situation. Robbing a bunch of rich guys blind could come later. For now he eyed the actual hard drives and considered taking them as a back up plan, but disregarded the impulse- there was no telling when Deering might return or if he would get a second shot at the lab to replace them. So while the PDA began storing the contents of the entire computer bank in its seemingly diminutive memory banks, he rifled through the various cabinets and shelves, looking for the medications listed in the files.

On the far side, almost to the deep freeze, he hit pay dirt. They weren't even locked up; the bottles were sitting in plain sight, organized in a neat row- beginning of the process to the maintenance phase. Some were bottles of pills while others were in liquid form, meant to be administered via shots.

It took some time to take a sample of each individual substance, and label it in sequence, so the PDA was finished before he was. Lester glared at it again. "Show off," he muttered as he unplugged it. When it was safely stowed away he took another look around the room, his dark eyes searching out every detail.

Time to find out what Masters had done with Haley. He had taken her into the study, which was the entrance to the lab, and she had never come back out. She hadn't been in the study, and he was pretty sure she wasn't here. The room was obviously empty and there was nowhere to hide. He frowned and swept his eyes over the stark white furnishings, the tables, and the computers. Nowhere at all, unless... His eyes focused on the large white box at the end of the room. Unconsciously he found himself taking a half step backwards, further away from the deep freeze, a chill running down his spine and pictures of frozen bodies drifting across his mind.

But this was his job...

Reluctantly he approached the deep freeze, all his other career possibilities flashing through his head. He could just do security, watch a parking lot or something... eat jelly donuts and scare teenagers... Keeping his new future firmly in mind he lifted the lid. What he found inside scattered the thoughts to hell and back.

It wasn't a freezer; it was a sarcophagus. With water.

Haley lay inside the thing, floating in several inches of water. Her arms and legs were held in strange gel-padded restraints, a mask of similar material covering her eyes and ears and a few electrodes were attached to her forehead. But she wasn't dead, he realized with a swell of relief. No, her chest rose and fell in regular if shallow breaths. Her chest... it took a moment for the last and most glaringly obvious detail to sink in. She was naked. Les blinked once; half-praying he was hallucinating.

Nope. There was still a naked female floating in a sarcophagus. No wonder the poor kid couldn't tell what was real anymore, he himself was half-convinced he'd stumbled into some fucked up version of Snow White. In fact if seven midgets toting uzis had walked out right then he wouldn't have been surprised.

"Haley?" he said softly. No response, not that he'd expected any. Lester shook his head and took a moment to evaluate the situation- it always helped to have a plan. She was in sensory deprivation, which meant that that son of a bitch had just left her here for however long he was going to be gone. No that wasn't right: Alec wouldn't risk Deering's wrath by killing off an experiment. So maybe there was a timer on this thing? He didn't have the time to wait and see which theory was right. Masters had been pissed enough to leave her in this thing for at least two days- how much longer would she last, both mentally and physically?

"Damn it," he whispered, reflecting on his distaste for situations like this. Leave her and risk half the reason for this insane op dying or take her out and risk getting found out? He looked back at the girl floating in the tank, oblivious to him, oblivious to the entire world. Pale, thin, frighteningly still- a far cry from the spunky kid he'd known, but it was still her. She at least deserved a chance. "You owe me," he whispered finally.

The decision made, he still had the problem of how to wake her up. Lester stared down at her and tried to remember every training session he'd ever gone through on dealing with hostages, prisoners, kidnapping victims... nothing had ever mentioned sensory deprivation though. Well, this ought to be interesting.

After another moment of hesitation he decided to get the blindfold and earplugs off her. He didn't know how she was going to react, so maybe it was best if she was tied down to start with.

He pushed the blindfold up, revealing her eyes to be closed. Apparently she was asleep... He touched her arm. She flinched, but didn't awaken. Fuck, he didn't have time for this, he thought as he pulled off the electrodes and earplugs. "Haley?" he whispered. No response. "Alia?" he tried. Still nothing. "Damn it, sweetheart, wake up..."

He started work on her restraints. They were simple clasps- apparently whoever was held in this thing was not going to be in any condition to get loose. The thought turned his stomach. He didn't even want to imagine what waking up in there would be like. Dark, alone, no movement, no sensation whatsoever? That was a couple steps past Hell as far as he could see.

Masters was going to die a slow and horrifying death, he decided as he unfastened the wrist cuffs, picturing the girl he'd come to know those few weeks in Trenton and comparing her to the still, lifeless little thing in front of him. He wondered how long she'd been there, and how many times before. How many times Bombshell had been here, as well...

As soon as the last clasp was open, he tried touching her again. He cupped her face in his hand, moving his thumb gently across her cheek. "Come on, sweetheart I haven't got time for this!" he said. Haley's entire body jumped at the touch; her eyes fluttered open as he spoke. She whimpered in pain at the light, and closed them again quickly. Les smiled.

"Hey, gorgeous. I know, fluorescent light sucks, don't it?" He toned his voice to a whisper, guessing that her ears might be sensitive as well. Haley winced, but didn't respond. Sighing, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up to a sitting position. Her eyes opened again, blinking rapidly then staring at him in a look of shock. He sighed. This might take some getting used to for her. Sensory overload... but there wasn't time for that.

He lifted her out of the watery grave and set her on her feet. Or at least he tried to. Her knees seemed to give out and she would have crumpled to the floor, but he managed to catch her. He held her upright and shook his head despairingly. Of course this wouldn't be that easy.

"Let's go, kid. We have to get you out of here..." he looked down at her still naked body, "and dressed. Where'd he put your clothes?"

Haley frowned and opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She closed it again, then took a deep breath. She tried once more. "Don't know," she said slowly, her voice barely audible. Almost like she wasn't real sure about how to speak. He shuddered at that thought and shoved it out of his head.

Okay. No time to look around for the clothes. He settled her on the lab table, pulled off his shirt, and offered it to her. She blinked in response, but didn't take it. Mentally tallying up the number of tortures he was personally going to inflict on the two scumbags, he put the shirt on her. Haley submitted to the dressing without a word.

"Can you walk?" he asked. She frowned at him, then looked down at her legs like they didn't belong to her. Huh. Guess that answered that question. "You're right, no time for talking now. I'm going to carry you upstairs. We'll get everything sorted out later." 'Like disemboweling that son of a bitch who put you in there,' he added mentally.

She didn't protest as he lifted her, obeyed his request to wrap her arms around his neck, and didn't make a sound the entire trip up the stairs. The only movement she made was to rest her head against his shoulder. Probably this wasn't a good sign.

Lester breathed a sigh of relief as they walked out of the fireplace and back into the study. He tried to set Haley down in one of the chairs, only to feel her arms tighten around him. "Sweetheart," he said quietly, "I'm going to put you down, now," he said.

"No," she whispered. The fear in that one barely audible syllable was enough to shake him. He sank into the chair, cradling her in his lap and wishing like hell Bobby was with him. He was good with this stuff, knew what to do. He took a couple seconds to calm down, try to think it through. It didn't take to long before he got the problem- She needed the contact. Something about humans needing physical touch...

The ways he was going to kill Masters became even more colorful.

"Ok, sweetheart," he whispered, keeping his voice calm and even. "Seja ainda, tudo será aprovado. Eu não o deixarei, querida." He pulled the radio off his belt and hit the call button. "I found her, boss," he said. "What's orders?"

"Took you long enough!" Enrique's voice was strained. "What'd you do, go on vacation?!"

"Negative. Encountered some... difficulties," Lester replied.

"My offices," his brother said after a moment of silence. "I want a full report."

Lester sighed and looked down at the girl in his lap. "We're going to see Enrique now, ok?" he asked. Her head moved the barest fraction of an inch, which he took as an indication of approval. Even if it wasn't he knew she was too weak to do anything.

He stood up, taking her with him and headed for his brother's rooms. They were halfway there when he noticed her skin becoming cooler. Realizing she might be going into shock, he tightened his hold and walked faster. "Come on, sweetie. Stay with me... Just a little bit further. It's fine now. It's going to be okay... Você está indo ser fino. Tudo será aprovado. Eu não deixarei qualquer coisa acontecer-lhe... " She was beginning to shiver and gave no sign of hearing him, or even recognizing her surroundings. "Estada com mim. Por favor estada com mim. Apenas um pouco mais longo. Você é seguro agora."

The remainder of the trip seemed to be ungodly slow, and avoiding the cameras slowed the progress further. Thankfully Rico had left the door open for them, and Lester slipped inside, kicking it closed behind him as Rico stood to greet him. Whatever he had intended to say was cut off as he saw the look on Lester's face. A scowl settled across his features as he looked at the girl, wet and obviously headed into shock.

Neither brother said a word as Lester carried her to the bedroom.

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Portuguese Translations

Be still, everything will be okay. I won't leave you, darling.

You are going to be fine. Everything will be ok. I will not let anything happen to you... Stay with me. Please stay with me. Just a little longer. You are safe now.


	11. Chapter 10: Back to Earth

**Disclaimer:** I still fail to own the Stephanie Plum universe. Janet still has that honor. I promise to put them all right back where I got them, good as new. But I solemnly swear I will be up to no good if I stumble across Ranger in a dark alley somewhere.

**Note:** Thanks as always for the wonderful reviews and all the support.

**Chapter 10**

_Trenton_

Ranger groaned as his cell started beeping. Well, not like he'd been sleeping anyway...

"Yo," he answered, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"You've got to move it up." It took him a moment to realize who was calling but when he did his mind kicked into gear, any chance of sleep sailing out the window.

"What happened?" he demanded, although he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. Something had to have happened, and usually something that meant moving an op up meant something bad.

"Alia- I mean, Haley," Rico sounded tired, but there was an undercurrent of anger audible even over the phone. "She's been missing for a couple days, after a fight with Masters." Ranger's stomach tightened, he closed his eyes. This could only lead one way, and that was directly south.

"Les found her in the lab," Enrique continued. "In some kind of sensory deprivation tank. As far as we know that's where she spent the last two days and it didn't look like he had any plans of getting her out." Ranger's thoughts were chaotic as he considered the implications. He was familiar with sensory deprivation chambers in interrogations, it tended to be a very effective method unless the subject cracked and had a psychotic episode...

"How is she?" he asked, preparing to hear further bad news. Instead there were several beats of silence.

"Sleeping," Enrique finally said.

"Rico," Ranger pushed. He heard the sigh on the other end.

"I don't know, ok?" his friend snapped. "I don't have any experience with this shit. She freaks if you leave her alone though, and she's sensitive to light. Maybe we'll know more when she wakes up."

"Rico, get some rest yourself," Ranger advised. "I'm going to call the teams. You'll hear from me in an hour."

"Right. So you got the messages?"

"Yeah. We got them."

The phone disconnected and Ranger sighed, staring down at it. A flicker of movement in the doorway caught his eye. He looked up to find his nephew watching him intently from the doorway. How much did he need to know?

"What's going on?" the younger man asked, his voice deceptively calm.

Ranger stood up, stretching the muscles in his back to give himself time to consider. "We're moving up the op."

"Why?" Dom asked, standing perfectly still, his dark eyes still fixed on his uncle.

"Lester found more than the files in the lab." Ranger stopped, evaluating his next choice of words. His gaze fixed on Dom before he continued, watching for any reactions. "He found Haley in a sensory deprivation tank. They're guessing she'd been there at least a day. Maybe two."

Dom remained still, but Ranger caught the infinitesimal sag in his shoulders. He too was familiar with interrogation tactics. "Is she still..." he trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

"She's sleeping. She went into shock after Lester pulled her out. They'll know more when she wakes up." He kept the other smaller details to himself. They could deal with any other problems later.

"Where's Masters?" Dom asked, his voice low and ominous.

"We don't know that yet. But we will soon," Ranger's voice equally dark. What would happen afterward went without saying.

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_The Caribbean_

The bedside lamp lit the room in a soft hazy glow strangely fitting for the unusual scene playing out. Lester Santos, crazed bad ass mercenary extraordinaire, was holding a trembling almost-naked female and not putting any moves on her. It was a day for the record books, Enrique decided with a smirk.

Lester glared at him from the bed. "Shut up, bro."

"Didn't say a word."

"Uh huh," Les snorted, then glanced down at the girl sleeping his arms. Her wide, frightened blue eyes had finally closed when she gave up fighting the sedative, her breathing becoming more regular as she drifted off. He sighed and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face.

"Think she'll be ok?" he asked as Enrique sat down on the edge of the bed and began checking her pulse.

"Maybe." Rico shrugged, unwilling to place any bets. "Good thing you found her when you did, though."

"Masters is going to die," Les said grimly as Haley whimpered in her sleep. "In a very painful and slow kind of way."

"No shit." Rico squeezed the wrist he held to keep her from pulling away as he counted. "From the sound of Ric's voice on the call I got just now, you might have to stand in line on that one."

"They got the files, then," Les was obviously relieved. The PDA had been a neat little device but he could never quite learn to fully trust a computer.

"Yeah. They got the files," Rico said as he released Haley's arm.

"What's the plan?" Les asked after a moment of silence.

"The op is gonna get moved up. No way are we risking a repeat of this," he gestured to the sleeping girl. "Ric's calling back in an hour to let us know."

Lester nodded, his eyes returning to the girl. Haley was just a cute little piece of fluff for all that she wasn't intimidated by any of the RangeMan employees, which he privately figured was because it hadn't occurred to her. Putting her through this, leaving her in that tank, it made him think of a spoiled kid torturing a puppy. Worse because this was a human and someone he had claimed to love. It was sickening. "What the fuck did she do to piss him off like that?" he wondered aloud.

"No idea. Probably she came here the other night instead of crying to him," Enrique sighed. Further conversation was stalled as Haley stirred and mumbled something in her sleep.

"She's waking up," Les said, his tone uncertain at best. Would she wake up as Alia, Haley, or something else entirely? It was a scary possibility.

"I'm going to get something for her to drink," Rico announced. "She's going to need it." And with that he left, only to return a few moments later with a glass of thick yellow... stuff.

"Is that a smoothie?" Les asked incredulously, eyeing the drink in Enrique's hand.

"Yeah. Got all the vitamins and minerals you need in it."

"Christ. You're getting as bad as Ric."

Enrique rolled his eyes and focused on Haley as her blue eyes opened wide. She blinked a few times, and pressed a hand over her eyes.

"Sleeping Beauty awakens," he said quietly. She uncovered her eyes and looked at him blankly. Not that this was new; her face had been devoid of expression the entire time she had been here. Even when they had redressed her. Enrique pressed the glass into her hand. "You need to drink this, ok? It'll make you feel better."

Haley accepted it and obediently took a sip. Enrique let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. While she gulped down the drink, he took the time to examine her. Some of her color had returned, but her eyes were still slightly dilated. The hand not holding the smoothie was holding tightly to Lester's forearm. She hadn't let go of him since he'd brought her in.

Rico took the empty glass from her and set it on the nightstand. Then he took her hand in his, and squeezed gently. "Sweetie, do you know where you are?" he asked. She looked at him for a long moment.

"Your room," she said at last, her voice husky from disuse. He smiled at her.

"Good girl. Do you know me?"

She nodded slowly. "Rico. And..." she turned her head to look at Lester, the confusion dawning in her expression. "He's the one you reminded me of... but that doesn't work. I dreamed him. Didn't I?" she asked, looking back to Rico.

"I wish," he said with an impish grin. "Princess, this is my twin brother, Lester. I think you might have met before." Haley blinked at him.

"Curiouser and curiouser," she said, shaking her head.

Lester laughed, then tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Later we'll have to show you just how far the rabbit hole goes, Alice. But right now you need to rest."

"No." Haley's voice was stronger, closer to its normal tones. "If you're real, and I'm not dreaming... then who am I?" she demanded. "Because if you're _both_ real, then something's hinky... and I'm _not _crazy," her voice broke again on the last part, and slow tears began sliding down her cheeks.

Enrique met her blue eyes and was shocked by the desperation he saw there- he hadn't realized she knew what everyone thought of her. He looked to his brother for help only to find Lester's eyes were locked on the girl he still held.

"I'm real, sweetheart," Les said simply. "And you aren't crazy..." he smiled then, "at least not as crazy as you be thinking."

"Then," Haley took a breath to steady herself. "Then I'm not Alia Darling, am I?" she asked, looking from Les to Enrique.

Enrique leaned back, and looked at her closely, as if gauging her. "Haley Jane Thorne," he replied at last.

"And I knew Les when I was Haley?" she guessed, biting her lip as she turned the news over in her head. Enrique nodded, apparently waiting for her reaction. "So, I'm Haley, but someone..." she struggled for the right words to fit what was in her head, "Someone made me into Alia?" she ventured. Again, the answering nod.

She sighed. "Okay, then. I need ice cream for this."

Les's face broke out in a grin. "Only you, sweetheart." Haley tilted her head and shot him a curious look, but remained quiet.

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_Several Days Later..._

I couldn't help it. I, well, I was storming through the house. And I had been for the last few days. The entire staff was avoiding me as much as possible. Fine by me. I didn't want to see them anyway. I wanted to see my sister, but she was nowhere to be found. Alec had said she would be back the next day! Ha! That was three days ago, and not a peep. The whole island had been searched, the house was turned upside down, the island searched again. Nothing. I was going to have another break down; I just knew it.

I had already let Enrique have it several times over for assigning some incompetent to watch her when he should have been doing it himself. I had yelled at every other member of the staff for... I couldn't remember. I just knew I'd been yelling a lot. It eased the tension.

Fortunately for my mental health, Charles would be home either today or tomorrow. I took comfort in that. He would straighten this out. Then I was going to throttle Alec with my bare hands for having the... the... _audacity_ to lie to me.

I found myself in my favorite spot, the window seat in my sitting room, looking out over the island and the bay beyond. I smiled to see a yacht cruising by in the distance. It was a common sight, since we weren't all that far away from Curacao or a hundred other jet-set playgrounds. I longed to join that circle some day- to fly around the globe, sipping champagne and attending marvelous parties. I sighed, if only my constitution was stronger. The frequent dizzy spells, the haunting dreams... Some days I secretly feared that perhaps Alia's condition was genetic. Perhaps I was going to be as out of touch as my sister. Maybe that was why I always had dreams about mad old women, and my gangster-Higgins. Maybe I was just a different brand of crazy.

Thankfully I was pulled out of those unbelievably depressing thoughts by the sudden shouts rising up from the yard. The supply plane was here! I jumped out of my seat and practically ran for the door. If it wasn't the supplies it was Charles... or both. Whatever it was, it was a very welcome distraction.


	12. Chapter 11: The Storm

Note: The chapter that wouldn't write. Thank you to everyone for the great reviews. And thank you to Alexis, the best military advisor ever.

_RFRqueenbe:_ Thank you, babe! blushes wow, a fan? eek, the pressure! lol.Over? Not even close, lol. There is still a long, long way to go on this thing. And you asked about plumcrazy.ws - I don't have anything on there. I stay on the Yahoo boards PlumFanFiction and rqfic .  
_Shiegra:_ Thank you! It's almost impossible to keep Ranger like Janet has him, esp when you have to go into his head for a longer story. I try to keep him close to it, but I like torturing him too much, lol. Try PlumFanFiction at Yahoo groups- namely Alexis's stories.

Disclaimer: As always, Ranger, Steph, the Merry Men, and most of the Trenton cast do not belong to me. Sadly Alec, Charles, and co are mine, but I'd rather not claim them. Haley, Dom, and the St. Louisans are also mine, but I'm a lot happier to claim them.

Chapter 11- The Storm

I felt my heart skip a beat as I watched Charles step out of the plane. I rushed toward him, happy he was finally home, and found myself swept up in a laughing embrace. He wasn't usually one for public displays of affection, but I didn't care at that moment. I was so upset over Alia's MIA status that I just needed the hug.

Bless him, he endured it with a smile. "I missed you too, my darling," he chuckled.

"Oh, Charles! Alec said you weren't going to be home for weeks!" I told him by way of explanation, my words coming out in a rush. "And now that Alia is missing, I-"

Charles shushed me by pressing a finger lightly to my lips. "Don't worry, Serena. I'm sure she's around here somewhere," he said, steering us back toward the house. I want you to go ahead with your party plans- the supply plane should be here in a couple of hours with everything you wanted," he laughed. "And I promise you you'll see your sister before then."

I frowned. "Charles, has something gone wrong? Is that why she wasn't up and about when Alec said she would be?" He shook his head and hugged me to him.

"No. Nothing's wrong. Alec just miscalculated a few things," he rolled his eyes. "He can be so careless sometimes."

I smirked, hoping he really gave Alec a lecture. My thoughts were distracted as we entered the house, though. I had so much to get ready! I'd been so frustrated I had barely thought about a welcome home dinner for Charles, or even any sort of celebration. Where had my mind gone to?

"I'm going to go work in the lab for a while, my darling," Charles sighed, "to get it all straightened out. Perhaps we can celebrate a proper homecoming later?"

"Of course!" I gave a mental sigh of relief. "It will be a double celebration," I said smiling up at him before kissing his cheek lightly. "Good luck."

He hugged me again, chuckling. "Don't burn the house down," he said, and left. I watched him disappear down the hallway with an odd feeling in my chest. I tried to shake it off as I headed for the kitchens, but there was no shaking it. It's that feeling you get that heartbeat before you miss the step and end up rolling down the stairs. The feeling that warns you not to take one more step because the universe is just dying to trip you up...

I should probably have listened to it, but there wasn't time. I had a dinner to organize in the midst of the chaos that the monthly supply run always incurred. Best to get as much as possible done before then.

I had barely even put the finishing touches on the flowers for the centerpieces when Charles stormed into the dining room. He was flushed and yelling into a cell phone. The scowl on his handsome features was almost enough to send me running for the beach, but I somehow guessed it wasn't directed at me.

Charles slammed the phone down on the table, sinking into the seat next to me. I remained as still as I could and kept my mouth shut. He could speak first. There was a minute of silence while he visibly tried to calm himself. When he finally looked at me though, his midnight eyes were still flashing with anger. "He took her with him," He growled. "That's the only explanation. I can't believe him! Of all the irresponsible, stupid... I'm going to kill him!" he ranted.

I was blank. I had never seen my Charles this angry. Huh, come to think of it, I'd never seen Charles angry at all. "She's gone?" I finally managed to ask, my voice shaky even to my ears.

He ran a hand through his already tousled hair, visibly fighting for control. "I'm afraid so, my darling." He took my hand in his. "I'm sorry. I never thought he was such an imbecile! I sent some of my associates to fetch him, though." I met his eyes and saw a fierce determination in them. "I promise he will pay for this. He should have more respect than to..."

He squeezed my hand briefly, then released it as he rose to his feet again. "The flowers are lovely, Serena. I am going to fix this fiasco- you'll have Alia back soon." I stared at him as he walked out the door, still trying to comprehend what had happened. Alec had taken Alia? Where? Where was she? I felt dizzy, and couldn't catch my breath.

This had happened before! She was missing again... Why hadn't I gone instead of her?

Wait, where the hell had that come from?

I stood up, and fought to stay on my feet as the world tilted at a crazy angle. I lost, of course, ending up on the ground, where the housekeeper found me a few moments later.

Mrs. Atwood was a genial, bustling lady of middle years who could bark orders like the captain of an old-time ship when the need arose. Thankfully for my suddenly pounding head she did not start yelling commands, but quietly helped me to the parlor, where I collapsed onto the sofa.

She pressed a glass of water into my hand.

"Thank you," I said, pulling one of my pills from my pocket. I kept them with me in case of emergencies like this. After taking it, I felt immediately calmer. "Could you... take care of the arrangements for tonight?" I asked. "I think I need a little rest."

She nodded, looking concerned. "Of course, Madame. Call if you need anything." I smiled, watching her leave. What would I do without her? I wondered about this as I slipped into a light sleep.

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Mrs. Atwood stood in the eye of a storm, the calm center of the whirlwind of activity as the staff of the island struggled to unload the plane in some sort of order. The normal chaos was further intensified because the plane's usual captain was absent, and half the crew was new. For mere mortals it was a management disaster waiting to happen. For Mrs. Atwood it was the barest niggling annoyance. One didn't earn references such as hers for nothing. She ignored the new and useless crewmembers, and her eagle eyes, usually so adept at catching anyone shirking duties, did not see two of them slip away from the unloading, toward the house.

Worse yet, she didn't even notice the three heavily armed men in camouflage until they were barely six feet away.

"Everyone into the hangar!" one yelled. "Slowly, and no one gets hurt..."

-----------------------------------------

The sun finally sank over the horizon, allowing the darkness to settle in. The two-man team patrolling the beach stopped to watch the moment, and settled into a favorite spot for the occasion. They greeted the third man who ambled over the dune with familiar greetings- this had become a ritual over the last few weeks, and a pleasant one at that. The third man joined them around the fire pit, and produced his nightly offering: a bottle of rum.

The three companions passed it around, the laughter becoming increasingly boisterous and the stories taller with each round. It was half gone when the first two finally nodded off.

Wishing his comrades a pleasant evening, the third man dusted off his pants and wandered down the beach on his own, leaving another bottle as a silent apology. He rounded a bend in the shore, and stopped to watch the small motorboat dislodge itself from the impressive yacht and race toward the shore.

-------------------------------------------------

The guards in the control room relaxed, chatting amiably over pastries and soft drinks while they watched the soccer game on the portable t.v. Next to them the cameras on the beach and in the house reported nothing but the usual evening routines and the confusion on the airstrip as everyone struggled to get the plane unloaded and the cargo sorted.

--------------------------------------------------

I woke up to the deafening roar of the supply plane as it buzzed overhead on its way to the landing strip. I glanced out the windows and was surprised to see it was almost sun set. I had been asleep for hours!

I sat up carefully, trying to ignore the wave of dizziness that swept over me. I didn't feel up to dealing with the chaos that had to be going on outside, but I didn't want to sleep anymore either... It occurred to me that Charles probably couldn't hear the planes arrival down in the dungeon (Alia's very apt description of the lab). Reluctantly I pulled myself out of the couch and headed for the study, which was the only entrance to the lab. I never understood the fascination with having a hidden laboratory, but I suppose it kept prying eyes out of it.

Pondering the mystery, I paused just inside the doors to appreciate the room. Like the rest of the house, it was furnished in the odd mix of heavy Old World woods and lighter more tropical accents. But this was the only room with Oriental rugs. I loved the rugs- they were thick and luxurious, and breathtakingly intricate. There were times I wondered if they might not be secretly aerodynamically sound. Tearing my gaze away from the carpets, I padded across the room to the fireplace and poked the right hand gargoyle in the eye. A truly ridiculous bit of whimsy, that. But what could I say? I was probably genetically crazy and thought insanely expensive rugs just might be able to fly.

The back of the fireplace slid away, and I stepped into the revealed stairway. "Charles?" I called as I neared the door to the lab.

"Serena?" he called back, and I could have laughed at the disbelief in his voice. I walked out onto the platform and waved down at him. He was staring up at me with an expression of utter disbelief. I never came into the lab if I could help it. I didn't like it- too sterile, too cold. Too white, I added, looking around at the pristine surfaces and the seeming endless expanses of white broken only by mirror-finished trims or glass beakers. Ugh.

"The supply plane is here. I didn't know if you would know yet," I explained, carefully maneuvering down the next set of stairs to the ground floor. Charles met me, his eyes searching me. He looked dreadfully concerned.

"My darling, you look pale," he said. "Are you feeling all right?" I nodded to him, smiling gently.

"Just a dizzy spell after you left. I had to lay down for a bit." I held up a hand to forestall the next question. "And yes, I took a pill immediately when it happened." He nodded in approval, his face relaxing into a relieved smile.

"Well, then. Let us head back upstairs. I think perhaps we'll delay the celebrations until tomorrow," he paused and put a hand to my forehead. "You need to rest, you feel a little warm." I frowned.

"But Charles, dear, I don't want to disappoint you! I've missed you and I want to show you how glad I am-" He put a finger over my lips to hush me.

"There'll be time enough tomorrow," he chuckled. "And you should know by now, my darling, that you never disappoint."

I blinked as he said that, my heart almost skipped a beat. For a second, the barest fraction of time, I swore I heard another voice say those exact words. "You never disappoint..." it echoed in my head around and around. But it wasn't Charles' rich musical tone, it was deeper, with a very odd accent.

Charles' arm was around me, holding me up as I almost sagged to the floor. "Serena!" he whispered. "Serena!" it was louder. I stared up at him, uncomprehending for a moment. My own name sounded so strange... And then he was sweeping me up, carrying me toward the stairs. We were almost there when a deep voice, calm and deadly as an earthquake, froze him in place.

"Put her down, Deering," the voice rumbled ominously. I heard an even stranger noise and looked up to see two men standing on the platform above. They were both dressed in black like the security guards, but the guns in their hands weren't like any I'd ever seen the guards carrying. Then again, the men were not like any guards I'd ever seen, either. These men were dangerous, and I somehow doubted the guns were by any means the only weapons they had on them. They were both tall, with indecent amounts of rippling muscle and oozing sex appeal. I frowned. Where did that last thought come from?

"I said put her down, Deering," the one closest spoke in the deep rumbling voice. I looked at him more closely. He had to be the biggest man I had ever laid eyes on, both in height and muscle mass, and his skin was almost as dark as his clothing. It made the massive gun he was aiming at Charles and I somewhat easier to miss. Like it just might be the least dangerous thing about him. I shuddered at the thought, leaning closer to my fiance.

Slowly Charles lowered me to my feet. It was as if touching the floor broke some sort of spell inside me- until I was actually standing there facing the two commandos, it hadn't occurred to me to be afraid. It was now occurring. I felt my insides tighten, and my stomach gave an unhealthy lurch. "Charles?" I asked desperately. "Charles who are they?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"No one, darling," he said calmly, his eyes never leaving the two men.

"Step away from him now, Ms. Darling," the impossibly large man ordered. I hesitated, and looked to Charles for guidance.

"Do as he says," he said softly. No, no I don't want to. Something's wrong here. Something bad is happening!

I stepped away.

"Further," the living mountain ordered. I glance up at him once again. He would probably kill me and never think about it twice...

I took another few steps and stopped, my eyes glued to the commandos. Apparently this was far enough, because the big one's attention was on Charles again.

"Face down, Deering," he ordered. I watched as Charles laid down, his movements slow and deliberate. Once he was on the floor, the two men finally moved, coming down the stairs. Their guns, however, remained focused on Charles the entire time. I just stood frozen, watching them stalk their prey like a pair of panthers, fighting the panic I felt welling up inside me.

The shorter one knelt down to handcuff Charles while Big watched. It must have been temporary insanity, but something in me snapped and I lunged at the one cuffing Charles. I must have taken them by surprise, because the insane maneuver worked, if only for about a split second. The guy caught me, but overbalanced so we rolled off of Charles to tussle it out of the ground. I held my own for about a tenth of a second before I ended up pinned on the ground, my arms caught almost painfully behind my back.

I tried to move my arms, and whimpered at the pain. The guy loosened his grip. I took the opening, wrenched my arms free, and rolled away from him.

"We really ain't got time for this shit," Big growled from somewhere as I scrambled to my feet. I didn't take the time to look for him, just backed up into the nearest lab table. It was the one with the chemical experiments set up on it, an array of beakers and test tubes full of mysterious liquids and various substances.

Number two was stalking toward me. "Just behave and we won't hurt you," he advised in a deep voice with the same weird accent as the one I'd been imagining earlier. I glared at him, one hand reaching to the table behind me in search of anything I could use as a weapon. Anyone who sounded like my hallucinations wasn't someone I was going to trust. My hand wrapped around something just as the gunshot rang out.

I turned to see Charles, a small gun in his hand, slide to his knees, a flow of red blooming from his torso. The scream ripped from my throat as I realized what I was seeing. Without even truly aiming I threw the vial in my hand in the general direction of Number Two and ran toward my fiance.

Charles looked up from the wound soaking the front of his white shirt, his beautiful midnight blue eyes meeting mine. There were so many things written in them- tenderness, love... pride... I barely noticed the movement of his right hand until the second shot ripped through the room.

The impact of it knocked me backward. I felt a blazing pain in my chest, and in my heart as another bullet opened another hole in him. He fell forward, clutching his stomach. Oh god, this wasn't happening. This didn't happen. Not in real life... Not in my life. My brain was reeling- I could almost feel reality slipping away.

I looked to my left, behind Number Two as the computer banks exploded into a bright ball of flame. I wondered, distantly, what I had thrown at them just before the dots started dancing around my vision. It wasn't until then I realized it was oddly hard to breathe. I looked down to see my own white dress slowly staining itself crimson.

That explained it then.

My knees buckled and I waited to feel the impact of the floor, but it never came. I was feeling lightheaded; the black spots were getting bigger now. Oh well, if they were going to kill me it might as well be when I wasn't conscious to feel it, right?

The world softly muted out and then the black spots finally took over.

---------------------------------------------

"Did you think I'd let you have her?" Deering wheezed, the life fading from his eyes with every syllable. His face was twisted in a grimace of pain but the satisfaction was clear in him.

Ranger didn't dare look down at the woman he held cradled in his arms. Instead he handed her off to his partner to turn on the monster in front of him, ignoring the fire rapidly spreading across the banks of computers not so far away. The light of the flames flickered and danced, shadowing his face into a feral mask as he stepped forward, a vial from the table of chemicals clenched in his hand. "Did you think I would let you die quickly?" he countered.

For the first time the other man's face showed a hint of fear as Death leaned over him. He tried to hide it, but it overrode even the agony of the two bullets buried in his stomach. Ranger's eyes were voids darker than space as he stared down at Deering. The man's death would be painful, his own digestive acids eating through his organs, bleeding internally.. but that wasn't enough. Not nearly. His lips pulled upward in an expression too cruel to be called a smile and he held the vial closer for the dead man to inspect.

"You took something that was mine," he said slowly, clearly so that his words would not be lost in the rush of the flames. "There's always a price for that." He tilted the vial, letting the liquid catch the light, smirking as Deering's eyes flared wide.

"N-no," he choked out, his eyes seeking Ranger's, seeking mercy where there was none to be found. "You wouldn't-" the vial tipped, the first few drops escaping to land on his cheek. The pain was instantaneous. Whatever pleas he might have uttered were swept away in the scream of anguish that only intensified as the rest of the liquid hit, splashing into his eyes, flowing down to his ears, his mouth.

Ranger didn't stay to watch the sight. He knew well enough what the acid would do, and the screams told the tale eloquently enough. His priorities lay elsewhere- namely in the limp figure his partner was holding. Tank was calling for Angel and Dom to meet them in the hallway, growling the orders into the comm unit. Ranger knew the contingency plans, had designed them, but he hadn't really been prepared for this. He never was, he realized as he checked Stephanie's wound. God he hated it when she got shot...

Something in him relaxed when he realized it was just a shoulder wound. She would be fine... but there seemed to be a lot of blood. His brows drew together. She shouldn't be bleeding this heavily...

"I know man," Tank's voice broke through his thoughts. "Too much blood. Angel is on his way, but we got to get out of here. Who knows what the hell's going to blow up next."

Ranger's eyes lifted from Steph to look at Tank's solemn features. A nod was all that was necessary.

The two men headed back the way they'd come, leaving the lab to burn. They were halfway up the stairs before either noticed that Deering had stopped screaming. Their eyes met briefly in a moment of victory, but that was all. There were other priorities now.

It couldn't be seen beneath the mask of camouflage paint, but Dom could feel the blood draining from his face. Christ, there always had to be something go wrong... He motioned to his comrades, signaling them to drop their tasks and head for the main house. The staff and most of the security force were locked safely in the hangar already, without a shot being fired. After all, they didn't owe their bosses anything and weren't overly eager to lose their lives.

Angel and Lester looked at him for an extra moment as if to make certain they had read the signal correctly before the team moved toward the mansion. At the edge of the airstrip Les commandeered one of the security Jeeps and the team roared off toward the house. Behind them the hangar doors rattled as the imprisoned group began attempting their escape.

Ranger and Tank rushed out of the door as they approached the mansion, Ranger carrying a limp figure in what had once been a white dress, although it was difficult to tell with the amount of blood staining it. They paused long enough to carefully load Stephanie into the back before Lester tore down the drive, headed for the beach.

The group had just crested the last dune when gunfire broke out behind them. The assailant only managed to squeeze off a few rounds luckily, before the answering shots from somewhere further inland ended the dispute. Trusting in their fellow team members to take care of any more tails, Ranger and his men focused on loading Stephanie into the Zodiac.

Angel knelt next to her, his brown eyes focused and hard.

"What do we need to do?" Tank asked quietly.

"Get her to the yacht. I'm going to need Bobby on this one," Angel replied his eyes never leaving his patient, but his grim tone spoke volumes.

"Haley?" Dom inquired, his eyes still fixed through his scope as he aimed at a target inland.

"Rico's supposed to have her," Les told him.

As if on cue, Enrique, Ash, and Quinn appeared over the ridge, running flat out. Quinn was sporting a fresh black eye and carrying something slung over his shoulder. A something that was apparently doing its damnedest to throw him off balance and wriggle loose.

"Move out," Ash yelled as they drew closer. Once they were in arms reach of the boat, Quinn tossed his uncooperative load to Dominic and joined the other two in shoving the craft back out into the water.

Dom bit back a yell as Haley caught him in the kidneys with a well-aimed fist. He caught the offending wrist and twisted. She went still instantly. "Behave," he warned her. It might have come off more threatening if she hadn't chosen that exact moment to look up at him with tearful, frightened eyes that almost hit harder than her fist had.

"You're going to kill me aren't you?" she breathed, her gaze sliding back to rest on Stephanie's still, blood soaked form. Without thinking he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly and trying not to feel his heart breaking as the nightmares of the last few months replayed in his head. Shit, now was not the time for this...

"No," he managed to whisper. Before he could offer any further explanations, there was an explosion of gunfire from the island. Dom shoved Haley to the bottom of the boat and leaned over her, his gun already up and taking aim from sheer reflex.

The next few moments were a jumble as the remaining three dove into the boat to the unwelcome sounds of bullets flying overhead while the Zodiac finally pulled free of the shore. Tank gunned the engine and they sped out toward the yacht at full tilt.

Haley stayed where she was, curled up on the bottom of the boat, scooted back against the side. Dom tried to put a hand on her shoulder but she flinched away without looking at him. He caught a glimpse of her eyes in the dying sunlight and winced at the glassy, distant expression in them. She didn't move until they reached the yacht. Even then she only did what she was instructed to do; climbing the ladder, taking a seat on the bathing platform.

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Curled up against the wall of the cabin and apparently forgotten, Haley tried to make herself think. She watched two of the men, the gorgeous blond with the angelic face and the black man who appeared out of the main cabin, as they gently took Serena inside the boat on a stretcher. Who were they? Who was she for that matter? Her head began to pound again.

Rico and Lester had told her she was Haley Thorne, visiting her cousin Stephanie in Jersey. They said she'd been kidnapped. It fit some of the extra memories in her head well enough, but these men had come and her so-called friends had known them... now Serena was covered in blood, barely alive. And they were on a ship headed for god knew where with a group of armed guerrillas. Mercenaries, maybe? Kidnappers? Pirates of the Caribbean?

This would make a good story. Much better story than reality, really. The story would be... a young girl, adopted daughter of the governor of Port Royal, who had vague memories of her true heritage is kidnapped by the merciless Black Raiders, the cruelest band of cutthroats on the seven seas. They are led by Captain... Captain... she looked at the man the others obvious deferred to.

He was tall, muscular, with long dark hair but in the dark, with the full moon and that camo paint on it was hard to tell much about any of them. Captain Blackstone, she decided, and his fearsome first mate Gibraltar. As in the Rock of, she thought eyeing the massive second-in-command. Now the pirate band planned to ransom the girl as well as her older sister, and then sell them into slavery on the Barbary Coast. But the girl knew of their plans, and knew that her sister was too weak to withstand any escape attempts, so that meant that...

Her story was interrupted by one of the pirates. He looked an awful lot like the captain, she realized. Maybe it was his son? She sat up a little straighter and lifted her head defiantly. 'Behave this,' she thought, glaring at him. "Stay away from me," she warned. "I gave your friend a black eye, I'll give you one to match if you come any closer."

"You sure as hell did, Pixie," the one with the black eye laughed. She almost jumped out of her skin. Where the hell had he come from? These guys fit into shadows way too well.

"What did you do to my sister?" she asked instead. "Why are you doing this?"

"Come inside, princess," Lester's familiar voice drifted on the dark breeze. "They didn't hurt your sister," he said sadly.

"No one on this boat is going to hurt you," the captain's possible son assured her. His voice sounded familiar as well. Something from one of her memory-dreams maybe? Haley shook her head. No, no one in her so-called memories wore camo paint or looked like a guerilla.

She took another few steps back until she was pressed against the guardrail. An idea hit her. "Any one of you comes any close and I'm jumping," she warned.

"Haley!" Les pleaded. She could see him now, next to the ladder up to the main deck. He stepped toward her, keeping his hand out in a gesture of peace. Smart guy. "We would never hurt you, or Serena. You know that," his voice was soothing, "Just think for a moment." Uh huh. Right.

"Then who did?" she asked, adjusting her grip on the railing. There was an uncomfortable pause.

"Deering," someone said at last but either it was a voice she didn't recognize or the hatred packed into the two small syllables distorted it past recognizing. Haley shook her head again. Try again, she thought at them. Her eyes darted around. They were far enough away... She relaxed her shoulders, like she was giving in.

"Just-" the black-eyed one started. She didn't wait to see what he was saying, just turned and swung her legs up to go over the railing. At least, she meant to. The exact physics involved in the next thirty seconds completely eluded her, but somehow she didn't go over the railing and was instead hauled backward by very large, very strong arms. She screamed as loud as she could and proceeded to kick whoever had her as hard as possible.

Dom cursed violently when her heel connected with his kneecap. "Stop it," he growled through clenched teeth. "Calm down and go inside-" Her foot connected with his shin in a surprisingly convincing answer, and he barely had time to adjust his grip on her arms as she tried to nail him in the sternum.

"Let me go!" Haley demanded, still struggling. "Who the hell do you think you are? Charles is going to kill you," she added. Probably he wouldn't, but it sounded good.

Dom didn't respond, concentrating on changing his hold on her.

"What in the hell is happening out there?" Tank's gravelly voice bellowed from the upper deck.

"Haley's beating up Dominic," Quinn yelled back, sounding too amused for his own good. Dominic glared at him through the darkness.

Tank's broad silhouette leaned over the railing to glare down at them all. No one could actually see the glare, but it was definitely present. "Knock it off. Angel and Bobby are trying to get Steph's bleeding stopped. You're lucky Ranger didn't come out and shoot the whole worthless bunch of you."

"Her name is Serena," Haley objected. Not one of the men chose to respond, but she quit struggling at the idea of being shot. Dom slowly settled her back on her feet.

"Please, Hales," he whispered. "Just listen to our case. Preferably inside- the mosquitos have to be eating you alive."

Haley looked around them, obviously evaluating her chances of escape. He didn't give her time to finish it, and ushered her toward the ladder to the upper deck. She went without any further incident and he sighed in relief He waited until Les helped her off the ladder above, then followed Quinn into the lower cabin to get cleaned up.

Inside Quinn was already scrubbing his own face paint off. "How do girls wear this shit all the time?" he asked when Dom entered. His friend just shrugged and slouched onto the bed. The lack or response caught Quinn's attention, and his green eyes were sympathetic when he turned.

"Give her some time, D. You heard the reports; it's gonna take a while," he offered. Dominic shook his head sadly.

"In the boat, she thought we were going to kill her. She seriously..." he looked up at Quinn. "She was terrified."

Quinn winced a little, but decided to change the subject. "Huh. She wasn't terrified when she nailed me earlier. Amazing- she can forget us, forget her own name but she still remembers how to land a punch."

Dom chuckled at the indignation in Quinn's voice, and rubbed his knee absently. "Yeah. Still kicks like a mule, too. So what did you get hit for?"

"I'm not sure. She was fine, going along with Rico no problem. Then one look at me and Ash and she flipped. I could kick your ass for teacher her how to fight." Quinn went back to scrubbing his face, avoiding the overly tender eye area.

"Hey, not my fault your face freaks some girl out," Dom told him, grinning. Quinn glared at him in the mirror.

"You know, I'd really hate to get in trouble for killing the boss's nephew..."

Lester waited until she had her footing on the upper deck, then pulled her into a tight hug. "You had me worried, sweetheart."

It took a second, but she returned it halfheartedly. "You... you're sure about these guys? You believe they didn't shoot Serena?" she asked quietly. Les pulled away and looked at her, examining her closely as he could in the small amount of light pouring out of the main cabin.

"These guys are friends Haley. There was a time you would have trusted a couple of them with your life, no questions asked," he said, his tone serious. "They didn't shoot Serena. I know you won't believe it, but it was Charles."

"He loved her! He'd never do anything to her," Haley protested. Les took a deep breath and resisted the urge to shake some sense into her. Now was not the time to get into this.

"Maybe he did, sweetheart," he said. "But you told me about him, remember? He was a little messed up sometimes, so maybe he did it when he didn't mean to." She bit her lower lip, and looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to contradict you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Of course you know what happened better than I do. I'm just overwrought, probably. If you believe that Charles did it, then you must have a reason." She bent her head in submission as if to wait for her sentence.

Les shook his head at the sudden change in personality. He'd seen it several times over the last few days, but it didn't get any less creepy. They had her programmed all right. Christ, he really didn't want to know what Stephanie was going to be like when she woke up. Haley was one thing, but Stephanie acting like this? That was almost a whole new type of weird. He sighed, and looked at the girl in front of him. She still reminded him of a kicked puppy. He was getting soft in his old age.

"I think there's some introductions in order," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to guide her into the main cabin. The door slid open as they approached, revealing Tank's broad silhouette. He stepped aside to let them in and both blinked a little as their eyes became accustomed to the light. Les nodded his thanks. "Haley, this is Tank."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Tank," she said, stepping forward to offer her hand. He hesitated as if he was about to say something, but changed his mind and took it in his much larger one.

"Just Tank," he said finally. "It's a street name."

"Oh." Her brows knitted together in a frown. She looked down at their hands and back up at him. "Have we done this before? I mean..."

Tank's teeth gleamed white as his face broke into a huge smile. "Yeah," he said, sounding relieved. "Yeah we have." And she found herself engulfed in a bear hug.

After a few moments, Tank released her, still smiling. They hadn't even hoped that the girls would start remembering anything for a while. Haley's sense of déjà vu was a breath of fresh air as far as he was concerned. It was about the first hopeful sign he'd seen since the whole cluster fuck kicked off.

"Good to see you, short stuff," he told her gruffly. Haley smiled, obviously pleased though she couldn't have known what she had done.

Les pointed her toward Ash, who was draped lazily across his chair watching the proceedings with amusement. His green eyes watched Haley intently, taking in the details, assessing her.

"Ash, he's out of St. Louis," Les explained. Haley offered her hand, and he accepted it before standing up quickly to pull her into another hug.

"You had us worried, brat," he said affectionately and grinned down at her. Haley shifted her weight, fidgeting under his gaze. There was something unnerving about Ash, as if he was waiting for the just opportune moment to outmaneuver her in some game she wasn't even aware of playing.

"Sorry about that... I wish I could remember," she said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it," another voice spoke up, distracting her from the unsettling Ash. She turned to the swarthy, extremely large, extremely buff young man in the driver's seat and found herself meeting his piercing chocolate eyes with considerable more ease. He was different from the others she had met; just as alert and dangerous but he was somehow less... foreign? He smiled. "I'm Dante," he said, and his accent was more noticeable. Okay, foreign wasn't the right word, then, she thought with a smile.

"Nice to, um, meet you again?" Geez, how many of these guys were there? Dante laughed like he'd heard her thought.

"Same here, sweetheart."

"There's nine of us," Ash said, answering her unspoken question. She blinked at him. Great, psychic commando yachting pirates of the Caribbean.

And people thought she was crazy?


	13. Chapter 12: Awakenings

Disclaimer: Janet still hasn't come to her senses and sold me the rights to the Plum universe. So I'm just borrowing everyone. Except the ones I made up and if you can't tell the difference, why should I?

Note: Thank you to all my great readers and reviewers. I love feedback, Yes I do. Thanks to Alexis, especially for all her help and advice.

Shivy: Thanks. No worries, she'll be up and around soon...  
RFRqueenbe: Thank you. I'm only reposting this from the lists, but thank you. I am a speed-writer when time allows. Thank you so much for your comments on the last chapter. It really took several re-dos to get that one anywhere near presentable.  
Valin: Gracias! Here you are- more!  
k4writer02: Thank you very much! You'llfind out what she remembers soon. :) I like to think Tank isn't just the big muscle dude we see in the books.  
i-forgot-my-name: YAY! That means all the rewriting is working. lol. Thank you.

Chapter 12- Awakening

Ranger watched Stephanie sleep, tracking the faint rise and fall of her breathing. It had been hours and his heartbeat still hadn't returned to normal. She was going to give him a heart attack in her sleep, he thought wryly.

He tightened the grip he had on her hand, tracing his thumb back and forth over her knuckles. He couldn't let her go, hadn't been able to since Bobby finally let him back in the room. Hell, he didn't want to let go. If he let go she could disappear again, this could all turn out to be another one of the dreams he'd been having. Lately he'd begun thinking Haley might not be the only one losing the grip on reality.

"You're here, Babe," he whispered to her. "This time it was real... I almost lost you for real all over again. I'm not doing that again." He brushed a stray curl off her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. God, how many times had he done that over the last couple years? How many times had he ached to be able to do that again, even just once more, over the last couple months?

"Come back to me, querida," he whispered. "I need you here. I need your spirit, your laughter. Don't let that bastard win, Babe. You're a fighter. You can beat this." His hand slid down to cup her face, his fingertips brushing her cheek and ignored the tightness in his throat. "Te amo. Le necesito. Tu eres mi corazon, mi alma. Vuélvame, le pido." Please, just let her wake up and be Stephanie...

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Angel's usually bright blue eyes were glassy and dull with exhaustion when he finally stumbled up to the main cabin. "Coffee?" he asked, slumping into an empty seat. Ash handed him a steaming mug without a word and he accepted it gladly. The others waited while he took a few sips to let the caffeine work its way through his system. After a tense minute of silence, he set the cup down.

"She'll make it," he said, looking at all the expectant faces. "Just a hit to the shoulder."

"Then where'd all the blood come from?" Quinn asked, his eyes narrowed. He trusted his guys, but there had been too much blood loss for a superficial wound.

Angel's eyes darted around the room again, looking for Haley before he answered. Satisfied she wasn't present, he continued. "It's a side effect of the drugs. It thins the blood, keeps it from clotting. So once either one of them gets a cut it's going to be a bitch to get the bleeding stopped. Gun shot wounds... that's a bitch times ten"

"Is it permanent?" asked Tank. "Steph is pretty accident prone. That could get ugly."

Angel simply shrugged, and rubbed his neck to ease the tension. "No way to tell until they're off the drugs for a while."

"Ranger staying with her?" Ash glanced down the hallway as he spoke, apparently looking for confirmation.

"Yeah. I'm first on call tonight," Angel smiled faintly, then looked up at Quinn. "Where's Haley?" Quinn shrugged.

"Sleeping I think. Les is on first watch with her. Guess she's still pretty messed up from that deprivation tank."

Angel snorted. "Gee, imagine that."

"We didn't get Masters, you know," Dom's voice was quiet and emotionless. Angel nodded once, being less than happy about that turn of events himself.

"Not tonight, but he can't hide forever," Tank said, clapping a hand on Dom's shoulder.

"No worries, bra," Quinn added, his mouth curving into a feral smile. "He's not smart enough to hide. And we can wait- more time to think up a fitting punishment."

"Lock him a coffin," Lester's voice was grim as he emerged from the hallway. "And leave him there to rot."

Quinn smirked. "That would be fitting," he said thoughtfully.

"Personally, I vote for something with a little more physical pain," Ash had an unpleasantly gleeful look in his eyes as he contemplated his ideas.

"So we beat him up, then throw him in the coffin?" suggested Tank. There was a moment of quiet as they all considered this plan.

"And we throw the damned thing overboard," Angel finished with a dangerous look in his blue eyes.

"Damn. I was hoping to blow it up," Tank sighed.

Dom shook his head, enjoying the mental pictures but he was focused elsewhere. He looked up at Lester. "Who's with Haley?" he asked.

Les looked at him, his eyes examining the younger man closely. "Rico. You volunteering for the next shift?"

"Yeah," Dom nodded. "I'll take it."

"You sure? She nearly kicked your ass out there earlier..." Quinn chuckled.

Dom rolled his eyes. "At least I didn't end up with a black eye," he said looking pointedly at his friend, who narrowed his good eye and raised a fist.

"Hey, you got off light, boys," Tank chuckled. "Ranger's had to start offering hazard pay to get the guys in Trenton to watch Stephanie. A black eye ain't nothing to the damage Bombshell does."

Dom snorted. "You've obviously never dealt with cheerleading try-outs." Quinn, Ash, and Angel all cringed visibly.

"Speak not the words," Dante said from the pilot's seat. "It might make it happen again."

Tank raised an eyebrow. "This I've got to hear."

"Me too," Les chimed in. "Seems like a bunch of cheerleaders would be a good thing..."

"Huh, you're naïve, then," Dom told him. "And we don't get hazard pay for it neither."

"I don't think there'd be enough to pay me to go through that again," Ash said honestly. "I'd take an assignment in Liberia first."

---------------------------------------------------------

Ranger was so intent on watching Stephanie he didn't hear anyone in the hallway until they were at the door. Still, years of training had their benefits and the gun was in his hand before he even realized he'd heard anything. One of the men would have made a sound to tell him they were coming. Aiming at the door he waited while it swung out.

A mop of brown curls peeked around the door. Sighing in relief he lowered the weapon. A pair of blue eyes widened in surprise. "Do you people ever not carry a gun?" the girl asked, her head cocked to one side curiously.

"Not really," he answered honestly. Was he dealing withAlia or Haley?

She paused as if to consider his answer for a moment, then smiled at him. "Yeah, I guess pirates need guns a lot. That makes sense."

Ranger blinked. "Pirates?"

"Well, you have a boat, you sail the Caribbean, you kidnap people and you stormed the castle. Isn't that what pirates do?" she asked, stepping further into the room.

"Anybody tell you you're a little crazy?" he asked.. She laughed.

"I've just been abducted by commandos in a yacht from a private island where I was being apparently brainwashed by an evil professor and a mad chemist," she retorted. "That's y'all's version of events," she said pointedly. Without waiting for a response her eyes drifted to the woman in the bed. "How is she?"

Ranger's gaze followed hers and he couldn't help the sigh that escaped him. Stephanie's face was peaceful as she slept, but too pale. "She'll be fine, eventually. Just lost a lot of blood," he said before he glanced back at the girl warily. She didn't pay attention to him, just walked to the bedside and sat down gingerly, placing a hand over Stephanie's.

"Serena's tougher than she lets on. You're probably right," she smiled faintly, turning back to look at him curiously. "So who are you really? Why would a pirate captain be standing guard over my sister?"

"Stephanie," Ranger said sharply. "Her name is Stephanie. And she's your cousin."

"So they've said," she said with a shrug. "But who are you?"

"Ranger," he said simply. His eyes looked at her appraisingly. "And who are you?"

"Haley, I suppose," she sighed, and looked back at Stephanie.

Ranger settled back into his own seat as the silence stretched out. It was finally broken by a small sniffle from Haley.

"She is going to be ok, right?" Her voice was thick, and she wiped away a few tears from her cheek. "How does everything get so messed up?"

When she looked at him, he was struck again by how much the two of them resembled one another. He shook his head and remained silent, he didn't have a good answer for her second question anyway. It took a minute to find his voice again as his eyes returned to Stephanie's still form.

"Like you said, she's tougher than she looks, kid."

Frantic shouts from the hallway broke into the conversation. Large, heavy boots pounded around above as well as outside. Ranger had his gun in hand again when the door opened, revealing a frantic Angel.

"Boss, we lost Haley. She got out of her room and we-"

"What do you mean I'm lost?" Haley stood up from the bed, frowning. "Am I dreaming again?"

Angel's shoulders sagged in relief a millisecond before he stalked toward her. "We thought you jumped overboard," he said, taking her by the elbow. "Come on, I need to check you over anyway." He paused, halfway back to the door. "Any change in Stephanie?"

Ranger shook his head.

"That's good," Angel nodded. "She needs the time to heal. You want me to send someone else in?"

"I'm staying."

Angel looked at him for a beat before starting out the door again, Haley in tow.

"Take care of her, Ranger," Haley said softly before the door closed behind them.

"Your family really is crazy, Babe," he sighed, looking back at Stephanie. "You know that don't you?"

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Haley frowned as the appropriately named Angel finished poking and prodding her. At long last he handed her several pills, ordering her to take them with some food and then get some sleep. She would have sulked if she hadn't felt so drained, but she didn't have the energy so she accepted the medication and the orders without complaint.

"Dom's going to stay with you for a while," Angel told her, packing some of his kit back together. "No more wandering around unsupervised."

"So I'm a prisoner," Haley sniffed.

"No. But we aren't going to risk you flying over another railing," he said with a stern glare. And then he was gone.

Haley stuck her tongue out at the door. Parental pirates. Of course. Why not? She flopped back on the bed to think, and yelped as she fell onto something lumpy. She rolled off the lump and looked at it. A fluffy white teddy bear stared back at her with bright blue eyes. Reluctantly she reached out and touched it. It was impossibly soft. So soft that one touch and she couldn't keep herself from pulling it toward her for a prolonged cuddle.

"I think you should know," she said solemnly, "I don't usually cuddle with strangers."

"Good to know." The voice was soft, but undeniably masculine. It also held a hint of amusement. Haley sat up to look at the new intruder. The boy with shaggy black hair and mocha skin was leaning against the doorframe with the ghost of a smile playing across his full lips and his dark eyes glinting in the light. He was wearing black like the rest of them, fatigue pants and a sleeveless shirt that revealed the rippling muscles of his arms. Even in the carefully relaxed stance he was dangerous- a panther relaxing in a tree while it waited for the opportune moment to move in for the kill. She knew she should have been terrified of him but somehow she wasn't. Which probably should have made her even more nervous...

"Who are you?" The words left her before she realized she intended to say them. The smiled disappeared from the boy's face. Well, a man really. Boys didn't look that dangerous.

"Dominic." He paused as if weighing his words. "I'm here to make sure you don't go pull another Princess Buttercup routine." The smile reappeared as he watched her jaw drop. He took the moment of shocked silence to move into the room and sit down on the edge of the bed.

"Since when to commandos watch 'The Princess Bride?'"

"Think of me as the Dread Pirate Roberts," he laughed outright at her shocked look

"I take it I knew you too, then?" she said after a moment of thought.

"Yeah," Dominic sighed. "I knew Haley."

"They said I'm Haley."

"Yeah. Somewhere in there, you are."

Haley bit her lower lip. She had no argument for that. "Tell me about it. Tell me how you know me... or her."

Dominic shook his head, looking at the bear she still held close to her. "It's better if you remember on your own."

'Is he mine?" she lifted the bear for further examination. At Dominic's nod, she smiled. "Tell me how I got him, then."

Dominic grinned. "Nope. You definitely have to remember that one on your own."

"You are about as much help as-"

"A unicorn?" he finished for her.

Haley sat up at that. "There are two other people on planet Earth who know about unicorns, and you aren't Eddie or Erin."

She watched Dominic's eyes widen, and glanced down in surprise as his hand wrapped around her wrist. "You remember them?"

"Of course I remember them. We were friends back home until Mom and Daddy died. Then I had to live with Serena and Charles." She pulled her arm away from him. "You didn't answer my..." her voice trailed away as something like horror registered in her eyes. Her gaze locked on Dominic. "I gave Eddie a black eye," she said weakly.

"Yeah. A real beauty, too," he said in admiring tones.

"You said your name is Dominic?" She was staring at him now, her thoughts beginning to swirl together faster and faster.

"Dominic Vega," he said, his eyes wary. She leaned away from him, her eyes widening in something that looked like fear, jerking her wrist out of his grasp.

"No. No. You aren't real. You aren't real," she whispered. He could see her beginning to shake.

Dom's stomach clenched tighter. He reached out to touch her, reassure her, anything. She flinched, avoiding contact, shaking her head. Denying his existence. Keeping his eyes on her he picked up the radio at his belt.

"Angel, get your ass down here, and bring Quinn with you."

---------------------------------------------------------------

I tried to take a deep breath, but I got about half way there before a wall of pain smashed into me. I choked on it, whimpering as the coughs brought another wave and then another. At least the pain meant I wasn't dead. I'm not a theologian but I'm pretty sure there isn't chest pain in heaven, and hell is supposed to be more of an all-over burning sensation.

The second clue was the person whispering in some language I didn't recognize. I lay there gasping, taking small shallow breaths as the pain subsided while I debated the wisdom of opening my eyes. I was seriously considering never opening them again, and just hoping someone would take the hint and make me dead when the voice switched to English.

"Babe, open your eyes. I know you can hear me, Stephanie," it said. It was familiar, too: Deep, gorgeous and sexy, with an East Coast accent. A voice like that, I had to open my eyes. I had to know if the view was anything to compare with the soundtrack.

I wasn't disappointed. I was lying in a bed, and the man leaning over me was what women through the ages had dreamed of. Dark, dark eyes, long black hair, skin the color of coffee with two creams. A painted-on black shirt revealed that the perfection went to more than his face- he was buff, toned, and sculpted in all the right ways. I was half-dead, but I knew if I had an ounce more energy I'd be fantasizing.

"Here," he said gently, holding something to my lips. "Just sip it."

I did as I was ordered, and sighed in relief as the water soothed the scratchy feeling in my mouth and throat. "Thanks," I whispered.

He smiled, a broad grin that brought attention to his sinful lips and made those dark gorgeous eyes shine. In a flash of recognition, I knew that grin- I had seen it in my dreams so many times now I couldn't count. I would have recognized him sooner, I think, but the setting was all wrong. Normally I saw him sitting across from me at a small restaurant.

"Professor Higgins?" My voice was faint but he heard it. I knew because his jaw fell open and he leaned back like I had slapped him. I wondered if I had said something wrong.


	14. Chapter 13: Explanations

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I am up to no good if I run into Ranger in a dark alleyway. Other than that, I am just playing with Janet Evanovich's creations, making no profit, and I will be putting them back when I am done. Haley, Dom, and the St. Louisians are mine, but you can play with them if you want to. They don't bite much.

Note: Thanks to everyone for bearing with me on this whole splitting/renaming escapade!

****

Chapter 13 - Explanations

He sat there, just staring at me for a minute. I thought maybe I'd made a mistake, maybe he wasn't Professor Higgins and the thought made me feel oddly nervous and disappointed. Then his lips quirked into a strange sort of smile and he smoothed a callused hand across my cheek. I didn't flinch away though because somehow it was comforting. Of course it shouldn't have been, I mean he was obviously armed, dangerous, and a total stranger; and yet it didn't matter. I was just happy he was smiling.

"Yeah, babe. I'm here," he said. His eyes glittered in the lamplight, holding my attention. They were pretty eyes, not quite belonging on someone that scary. "What do you remember?" his voice was as gentle as his hands. Funny, because looking at him 'gentle' wasn't a word I'd have connected to him. 'Dangerous' or 'harsh' or a dozen other words more fitting to gun-toting commando types, sure.

It took a lot of effort to answer his question. My brain was a furry blur of pain, confusion, and a desire to just go back to sleep. But for all that he was being really nice, I kind of thought ignoring him might not be a good idea.

"Charles shot me," I said slowly as my foggy brain slogged its way into functioning. "The guys in black shot him. In the lab. With a revolver." I giggled a little at my own joke, then broke off in a gasp of pain. Damn. I'd half convinced myself it was all a dream.

Higgins-in-black carefully pressed me back into the pillows. "Easy, babe. Short breaths..." he pulled some sort of walkie-talkie thing out and spoke into it. "Angel. She's awake."

"An-hell," I tried the name out and smiled. It was fun to say. "Who's that?"

"Your doctor for now. We should be in Curacao in another hour or so. We'll find you a hospital there."

It began to sink in then. I was awake. I was also wounded and laying here conversing with a perfect stranger I had spent months dreaming about. I also didn't know where I was, although from the slight rocking and the room in general I was on a boat. An hour out of Curacao... What happened to the island? What happeend to Charles?

The images floating through my sleep-clogged brain began to slowly come into focus...

Men in black sweeping into the laboratory, Charles hitting the ground with blood spewing out of him. His gun raising up, his eyes locking on mine in a meaningful look. Pride, love, sorrow... And he'd shot me. He'd considered it better for me to die than to live. He had protected me from the men in black in the only way left to him. I felt a stab of pain in my chest that had nothing to do with the bullet and the tears filled my eyes.

"Why?" I gasped, searching the concerned face of the man beside me. He was so handsome it could take your breath away and he was treating me with a great deal of care, his eyes looked worried, almost haunted as he sat there. This was not what kidnappers did. I felt like I was missing some very large pieces of the puzzle. "Why did you do this? What's going on? How do I know you?"

He sighed. "Later. I'll explain it all later."

"No. Now. Where's Charles?"

His eyes were sharp and assessing as he looked at me silently. "Dead."

I forgot to breathe. Charles was dead. The men in black had killed him, but now they were taking care of me, getting me to a doctor to treat the wound Charles had inflicted. Somehow the universe had shifted into some alternate reality while I was out.

"I don't understand," I said honestly, giving up. "Why? Why did you do this? Why did Charles shoot me? Why are you kidnapping me? Why aren't you acting like kidnappers?" I was becoming hysterical, I knew it, but I didn't really see a way not to. You don't just have a perfectly wonderful life one moment and wake up in topsy turvy world and not have hysterics, damn it.

Whatever he would have said was put on hold as someone knocked on the door. It was a pattern of taps, which I thought was odd. Not as odd as the person who entered though. It wasn't his appearance; he was tall, broad shouldered and muscular, with tousled blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, tan skin- he could have been a poster child for California surfers. The oddness was something more indefinable. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, his aura. Or it could have been the amount of weapons visible on him. I didn't really have time to think about it, I was more concerned with how to have proper hysterics with a gun shot wound.

"Angel," Higgins was scowling. "What took you so long?" Angel. He definitely fit the name, at least in the looks department. The knives and guns kind of ruined the image a little, though.

"Haley's up too." His voice was not angelic in the least. It was a little like Higgins', in other words: sex in sound waves. He could probably set a girl off just by saying the right words. Good lord, what's happening to me? My hormones are taking over! I tried to focus not on the voice but on what he was saying. It took a little effort. "She flipped out when she realized Dom was real... We're guessing it was some sort of extra programming since she didn't have the same problems with anyone else. Her universe took a little reorganizing and she needed a sedative." He shook his head like he was clearing the thoughts away and looked to me with a smile. I hadn't followed a word he said, but as long as he kept talking I was going to be happy.

"Good morning. How's the chest?" he asked me.

"Hurts." I could have been more specific, but that would have required thinking and I was fairly sure his voice had just short-circuited a few neurons.

"I can't give you much for it," he looked apologetic. That's ok, just keep talking... "We'll leave it up to the doctors on shore to handle the serious stuff." He stood by the bed and leaned over me with a flashlight. Hm, he smells good too. Not as good as Higgins, though. "Follow this please..." I followed the light and tried not to think about the fact that two of the sexiest, more dangerous, most delicious males I could have imagined were standing in very close proximity to me. Maybe this new topsy-turvy world wouldn't be so awful after all.

And then I thought about Charles. The stabbing guilt hurt almost worse than my chest. He'd barely been gone from my life and I was already thinking about sex with someone else? I felt ill at that. I'm not a nymphomaniac, and I normally have excellent control of my hormones. I don't even like sex that much! The sadistic wave of hormones didn't seem to be willing to take that into account, though.

Angel continued poking and prodding, luckily some of it hurt or I might have had a lot more trouble keeping my thoughts away from sex. Then he started poking around the wound, making me quickly reevaluate his angelic appearance. More like sadistic demon in disguise. Undeniably hot, sexy, gorgeous sadistic demon.

"Name?" he asked me when he was apparently through with that. Huh, okay that was a weird question. The bullet hit my shoulder, not my head.

"Serena Darling." Both the sex gods seemed uncomfortable suddenly. Angel and Higgins exchanged a look, and I felt like I had missed an entire conversation. The odd part was that somehow I wasn't surprised. Curiouser and curiouser.

"Age?" Angel asked, returning his attention to me.

"Isn't that a little rude to ask a lady?" I lifted my chin, feeling defensive.

Angel grinned at that, his blue eyes sparkling in delight. Not many men's eyes can do that, but damned if his didn't. "You're doing fine. I'll be back in an hour or so, when we get ready to dock"

I yawned and settled back into my pillows as Higgins followed him out. I wondered again when and how I had met someone like him, even in passing. I also wondered why they had shot Charles and why I wasn't more upset about it. Guilty, I felt very guilty. But I wasn't falling apart either. Which just reinforced the guilt. Obviously I had just been kidnapped, my fiance was dead, and my sister was missing. Maybe it was just too much. Charles had warned me not to get too stressed, that it might cause a relapse. He had also told me not to worry, that everything would work out. Just give it time.

All right, so no worrying about it. I didn't seem to be in any immediate danger and I was being taken care of. The only problem I had was satisfying my curiosity over the situation. I wanted to know how I knew these people, who they were, why they had shot Charles, and where my sister was. And who the Haley girl they had mentioned was. Oh, knowing what was going to happen after we landed would have been nice too... That's not much, is it?

The man I'd dubbed Professor Higgins walked back into the room, effectively distracting me. He looked exhausted, devastatingly handsome but exhausted.

"You should get some rest,' I told him, feeling oddly concerned about it. He sank into the chair next to my bed but didn't respond. "I'm not going to run away, if you're worried about that. You ransom is safe."

"Ransom?" He looked... affronted. As if I'd just wounded his pride.

"You're kidnapping me, right? Isn't there usually a ransom involved? Alec is probably paying it..."

He shook his head. "You're not being kidnapped." He said it slowly, making each word very clear and concise like he was talking to a child.

"Right," I didn't know whether to believe him or not so I presented the case. "You attacked our island, shot my fiancé, and carried me off in a boat. Isn't that kidnapping?"

His face was blank, and he didn't say anything. The silence stretched on until I couldn't handle it anymore. Just when my nerves were getting stretched to their limit he spoke.

"You remember meeting me before?" I nodded, wondering about the sudden change in subjects, but willing to let him do this his way. That strategy always worked best on Charles.

"Yeah. I... I've dreamt about it anyway. I usually see you at some restaurant. You're laughing because you want to be professor Higgins." I shook my head. "I never get that. Why would you be playing Professor Higgins? You don't seem like a musical kind of guy."

His lips quirked in that hint of a smile. "You made a hell of an Eliza yourself, babe."

My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "What?" My voice sounded squeaky. "I don't sing."

"Wasn't a play," his smile widened a little. "I was your mentor. Taught you the ropes."

Oh. As long as I hadn't done something as embarrassing as singing in public. But if he was my mentor... for what? I would think I'd remember getting taught anything by someone like him.

"I don't remember you teaching me anything."

He winced. "Yeah, I could have done better. But you were so damned good on your own. It was almost scary sometimes." _Good at what?_

The pills Angel had given me during the exam were taking hold now, and I yawned. "I don't understand."

He took my hand again. "Go to sleep. I'll explain later if you want." His eyes were warm and dark. Melted chocolate. I smiled at the thought and he shifted closer to me, his thumb stroking my knuckles in a steady pattern. Funny how relaxing that was.

"Ok, professor," I yawned again, wincing at the pain it ignited, then opening my eyes to have the pleasure of looking at him again. "You never told me your name."

There was a beat of silence as those dark eyes watched me, like he was trying to memorize my face.

"You can call me Ranger. It's a street name."

There was an echo-y feel to those words, as if they'd been said before. I frowned and wondered at that. The whole deja-vu thing had been happening a lot recently.

"Ranger, then." I smiled. "It's nice to meet you..." Wait, that wasn't right. I wasn't meeting him- I knew him- he was a mentor, whatever that meant.

Once upon a time, in some other life... My old daydreams resurfaced, and I let them carry me off into sleep.

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Haley was trembling, curling around the small toy bear out of sheer self-defense. The tranquilizers were setting in, but not fast enough. Her entire being felt raw and open like something had ripped off a layer of skin. Forgotten a friend. Forgotten an entire life...

Eddie sat with her, holding one of her hands in his. She looked down at where their hands were joined. His was large, callused and scarred; hers was tiny in comparison. She felt tiny in comparison. It was unsettling, but somehow it was also like he was anchoring her, holding her here in this reality. She was thankful for that. He wouldn't let her slide off into the world of ghosts and shadows, illusions and dreams. He was real. She knew him. She had known him forever.

"Look at me, Hales," he said softly. She obeyed, and looked up into his familiar face, wincing at the mass of bruises around his left eye. Other than that, his features were harsher now, the years had cleared away the boyishness and carved more angles. It was a handsome face, but one that did not welcome strangers. She imagined people would avoid him in a dark alley but she trusted him implicitly. To her his bright green eyes were the key, they reflected him: conscientious, thoughtful, strong. The outside might have changed, but he was still the same inside, and that was always what mattered.

Right now they showed his worry. She wasn't clear on why he would be so worried over a girl he hadn't seen or been close to in years, but he was.

"Once a king," Haley mused to herself, only half-aware of saying it out loud.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "Old habits die hard." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into a hug. "But you aren't just some girl, Haley. You are you. And I'm afraid I failed our friendship. We should have kicked Alec's ass whether or not you were gonna be mad. I should never have let you disappear into their expectations. I failed you, princess, too many times. I'm not going to do it again."

"We haven't talked in years, Edward," she said stiffly, but she leaned into the hug. Ever since Les had pulled her out of the dark place she'd felt an almost physical need for touch. Rico had told her it was normal, but it was something she wasn't comfortable with.

"Please call me Quinn. I hate that name."

She laughed. "Hey, I could use 'Teddy'..." The arm around her tightened.

"It's a good thing I'm feeling guilty right now," he said in mock threat. She ignored the bluff.

"I don't understand why. I don't understand any of this. And what about Dom? I don't remember him."

"Haley, I..." Quinn sighed, and suddenly the weariness in him was showing. "I'm going to tell you a story."

"Do I know it?" She yawned, and cuddled into him. He had always been a great storyteller.

"Maybe. We'll let you decide." There was an odd almost-nervousness in him. Haley squeezed his hand.

"Get started, or these drugs are gonna knock me out before we get to the end."

"All right. A long time ago, there was a group of friends. Two boys and two girls who shared a Secret, a world of their own creation..."

"Four? Why is it always-"

"Shush." He held a finger to her lips before he continued. "And it brought them closer and closer until they meant more to one another than family. This Secret kept them sane sometimes, it let them have a place of safety when everything else fell down.

"But things change. One of the girls, Haley, decided that it was time to grow up and forget. She did, and she was happy for a while. The others let her, because her choice hurt them and they didn't know what to do," his voice was quiet, almost apologetic. He began to run a hand up and down her arm in a slow, calming rhythm.

"Haley fell in love eventually. The man she fell in love with wasn't nice. He was cruel, but he hid it well. The others hoped she would see it for herself, and didn't interfere because they were afraid of pushing her even further away. They kept delaying it until he finally made a mistake so bad she ran away to hide from him. The man was so angry when he found her that he carried her to a secret place. He made her forget everything. He made her into his own version of perfection. But she was stronger than he thought because he couldn't control her dreams. She found herself caught between realities, so she hid within the Secret."

Haley felt the tears filling her eyes. "And everyone thought she had gone mad," she whispered. "Including herself."

Quinn kissed her forehead. "You're perfectly sane, pixie. It's Alec and Charles who were psycho. It will come back. Maybe if you concentrate, or maybe you shouldn't. I can't tell you what to do on this one. I wish like hell I could. Maybe the doctors can help you with it."

Haley smiled and looked up at him with sleepy blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Quinn. I was a horrible brat. I hope your eye is okay." He laughed and squeezed her a little.

"I'm fine. Just my ego that's hurt. But I was proud of you for putting up a fight."

"Learned from the best," she yawned. "Thank you, bro..." her eyes closed and sleep had claimed her before she even finished the thought. Quinn watched her as her breathing slowed, his thoughts wandering to old times, among the four of them. Funny how those days seemed even more distant and foggy than the imagined world of the Secret.


	15. Chapter 14:

_Disclaimer:_ Janet Evanovich is creator and owner of Stephanie Plum and it's universe. I'm just playing and promise to put everything back they way I found it.

_Note:_ Sorry this took forever. And I'm not even sure I won't scrap it, but hey, at least it's something.

Chapter 14 

A series of soft taps on the door gave him warning enough that when the other person entered the room they didn't have a gun trained on them. Dom's eyes were blank and unemotional as he stood, half in the room. Quinn sighed and motioned him in.

"She's asleep," he said softly. Dom stepped the rest of the way in, closing the door quietly behind him and moved silently across the cabin to take a seat in the chair. Even in the near darkness Quinn saw the tension in his friend, the storming emotions: anger, confusion, hurt, sadness. He also saw the way Dom's eyes fixed on Haley, watched the lines of stress soften. It was very telling.

"Is she okay?" Dom's voice was quiet.

"No. But I think she will be."

"She's scared of me." The tiniest hint of sadness in the words let Quinn know just what was going on then.

"No. She's scared of herself. She's scared that she's totally lost it."

"You didn't see the look in her eyes, Q. She didn't look at you like some stranger."

"She punched me," Quinn reminded him. Dom smiled at that.

"Yeah. But she's done that before."

"Once. One lousy time in fourth grade--"

"Wasn't it the same eye, too?"

"Shut up. It was your fault anyway."

"Yeah," Dom grinned. "It was."

"When do we get to port?" Quinn asked, opting for a quick change of subject.

"A couple more hours. Stephanie woke up, by the way. Right before Haley."

Quinn glanced at the door sharply. "How did that go? I haven't heard any gunshots..." Dom chuckled.

"The jury's still out on that one. She hasn't gotten the whole story yet. Still thinks she's Serena, but I guess she took Charles's death okay."

"He didn't tell her the whole of it then." No need to clarify which 'he' was in question. There was a running speculation on whether Ranger was ever going to let Stephanie out of his sight again. Dom just shrugged, his gaze sliding back to Haley. He had to admit he wouldn't blame his uncle for never leaving Stephanie's side again, he was having similar ideas about Haley. Too bad that if either one of them got back to normal they'd have conniption fits.

As if sensing the look, Haley stirred a shudder wracking her body. He took a step forward out of sheer reflex before he could remind himself of the situation and forced his body to remain still as Quinn smoothed her hair and whispered reassurances. He couldn't be jealous though; the pain in his best friend's eyes matched his own. He waiting until she was still, once again slipping into a dreamless sleep, before he dared to speak. "The Secret?"

"She remembers, most of it anyway. Twisted so that you weren't present or someone else played your parts," Quinn said, turning his troubled face to look at his best friend. His lips were tight as if just saying the words made him uncomfortable. Dom closed his eyes, trying to calm the emotions tearing through him.

"He'll pay, Dom," Quinn's voice was tight, controlled, the words heavy with the promise of vengeance. Masters had meddled in the Secret. Daily life, everyday identities, were one thing; but to interfere in that? Quinn looked to his best friend's exhausted eyes, and down at Haley's sleeping form. Master's would beg for death, he swore to himself. The punishment would be equal to the crime.

After that there was silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts as time slipped by. The quiet finally came to an end when Bobby peered in to announce they were landing, sending everyone on board into a whirl of activity.

I turned my head slowly, raising a languid hand to shield my eyes from the glare of the midday Caribbean sun as I took a long, lingering look at the girl next to me. We were basking on the sun-drenched terrace beside the glittering Olympic-size pool amid various classical statues and exotic flowers. Below us the island was bustling with life; open-air bazaars and the harbor overflowing with pleasure yachts and commercial vessels. But here in our secluded area of paradise, only the occasional echoes drifted by to remind us of life beyond our tranquil sanctuary.

I had been here for two months, or maybe three. It didn't really matter to me- time, I mean. What mattered was the feeling boiling up inside me as I watched the girl next to me, watched reflected lights from the pool play against her skin, watched her chest rise and fall with her even breathing. And I wished it would stop. I wished she would stop breathing. Stop moving. Stop living. Hatred boiled up inside of me, an emotion I don't think I had ever truly felt before. I had vague, shadowy memories of my life before. There were scenes of action, of passion, of terror, of laughter. They slipped through my dreams, crept into my thoughts sometimes. They told me of hatred. A man in a bunny suit, a boxer, an ex-husband and a slut he slept with. In my old life I had hated them all, I supposed. But that remnant was nothing compared to the anger and resentment the sight of the person next to me incurred. Even know the palms of my hands literally itched with the urge to strike her.

I was here to recover the rest of those shadows, to gather them up and reform myself into who I was: Stephanie Plum, lingerie buyer cum bounty hunter, from Trenton New Jersey. There were several people anxious to see my improvement, my return to health. Ranger, Tank, Lester, the others, men who had rescued me from a twisted scientist, who had saved me. At least in their eyes.

I liked these men, even loved them. They were all good guys. I would not disappoint them for the world, so I tried very hard to regain myself and to remember more, to submit to whatever the doctors ordered. There was only a slight problem, one I dared not mention to any of them, or any of the doctors either. I didn't like what I was remembering. None of it. I didn't like who I was remembering being, what I remembered doing, or where I remembered living.

Stephanie was a loser. She had no taste, no class, no money, no family, no husband, no life. She was pudgy. She shot people. And if the apartment I kept having dreams about were true, she lived in a slum. With a rodent. My stomach was twisting itself in knots just mentally going through it all. I began to feel vaguely nauseous.

And worst of all, I didn't understand why anyone wanted her back. And since they so obviously felt I was not up to par, what must I be? I tried so hard to make everyone happy and still I caught the looks when they thought I wasn't looking. The almost-hidden sadness in Ranger. The worried look from Tank. Bobby's lips thinning as he tried not to scowl. It sent a fresh stab of anger through me, directed squarely at my sole companion: my sister Alia, or my cousin Haley, depending on which of my lives you cared to go by.

Alia had been an indulged child, forever half lost in a world of her own imagination. Haley was… very much the same, but she was not lost or confused. She had taken up her old life, her old roles with alarming ease. She did not elicit sadness in the merry men. Life was sickeningly easy for her, in either world. She did not have to choose between such polarity. She wasn't a disappointment. It seemed like she was somehow both Alia and Haley, and she was not disappointing anyone. I hated her for it.

Next to me, the unknowing recipient of all my frustration, anger, and hatred let out a sigh. "All right," she said in a relaxed and sleepy voice, "you're staring. What's up?"

A corner of my mouth tilted upward. If only you knew. "Nothing. Just wondering if you'd had enough sun yet. We should go see about dinner."

Haley sat up and looked at me, her actions much more efficient than her drowsy voice would have implied, and her blue eyes so similar to mine were just a little suspicious. "You look upset. You weren't thinking about dinner."

"I am not impressed with the chef's performance lately," I said shortly, sitting up and reaching for my towel.

"Try again. You love Jean-Luc's food." I opted to ignore her and continued gathering my lotions and oils together. A few beats of silence passed before she spoke again, her voice tight with anger. "Fine. Whatever. You've been a bitch to me for the last two weeks, so go ahead, be one. But quit blaming me because your fantasy bubble got busted and you don't like what the real world is showing you. Get over yourself."

I froze, suntan oil in hand, staring at the pool and I barely heard the terrace doors slamming behind her. And there on that warm sunny spot, in the balmy sea breeze, I was suddenly chilled. I remembered the small glimpses of Stephanie's mother, all of her asking me why I wasn't married or settled, or her expounding helpful household tips. The guy the others had told me was named Morelli, saying something about curtains and cookie jars, wanting me to stay home… another man, this one the ex-husband, yelling and demanding to know why I wasn't at home, taking care of the house…

Stephanie couldn't possibly have been what they wanted from what I remembered, but I could. I was. I knew without thought how to be a hostess, how to manage a staff, a million ways to get stains out of clothing, how to prepare various gourmet meals…

I wasn't sure how I got there, but I found myself standing in front of the full-length mirror in my room, staring at my hair. I kept it straightened and deep-conditioned, using all the miracles of modern technology to tame my natural curls. Charles didn't like curly hair- too wild, too chaotic. I had agreed fully… at least, I was pretty sure I had. I couldn't really remember. That happened a lot, not remembering; especially about decisions or choices.

I looked across the room to wardrobe with it's doors standing ajar revealing the array of sundresses, skirts, sarongs… they were all colors and styles Charles would have liked on me. He and I had always had such similar tastes it had been easy. Hadn't it? Hadn't we?

I stepped away from the mirror to sink into the bed and I stared blankly up at the ceiling. I had to think, but I didn't know about what. Something important. Something very important had to be decided, and soon, but I wasn't entirely sure what it was or how to make the decision.

I wasn't happy, I knew that much, and I hadn't really been happy since… since we left Goldwater… but no, I was going to be truthful, and I hadn't really been happy there either. Content maybe, but hadn't I always wanted something more? The Jet Set. Batman.

Perhaps before the island then? But it was all very hazy, my life before, and my life as Stephanie hadn't been very joyful either from what I recalled… My eyelids felt heavy and I began to drift. Maybe my dreams would tell me something. They hadn't let me down so far.

"That's impossible. These don't exist yet," Ash shook his head, staring in disbelief at the computer screen.

"Tell me about it. But here they be," Dante replied. "Real, genuine and working."

"Fuck. Just when I think this can't get any freakier."

"You getting the Twilight Zone vibe too, huh?" Dante sat back, rubbing his eyes as if to erase what he'd been staring at.

"I was going to go with Matrix. Look at this shit," Ash's voice was strained as he took control of the keyboard and began scrolling through the documents. "This was just the kick-off. Think where they could have taken this…"

"I'd rather not, man. I'd really fucking rather not," his partner snapped. "We got to clean this mess up, you realize that? We call anybody, they're gonna take those girls and stick them in some Area 51 bullshit…" Ash shuddered.

"Don't think the Boss or Dom would go for that one."

"Quinn either, man. Which means we get to do this by our lonesomes."

"Still, it's awesome," Ash insisted. "Real nanotech. And it works, Dan. Look at this," his fingers flew over the keys as he called up various windows filled with schematics, plans, programming languages. "They built in… it can adjust, Dan."

Dante's head shot up and his eyes focused on the screen. "What?"

"Check it," Ash scrolled up. "This is that analysis you ran… look, the chip has memory capabilities. It learns…"

"Fuck. Ash, listen to yourself," Dante said, turning to his partner. His eyes were blank in the cold light of the computer lab. "It learns," he repeated slowly, to let the impact sink into Ash's excited thought patterns. Dante watched as comprehension slowly dawned, watched the animation drain from his friend's face.

"Shit." A long silence followed, neither one feeling any more elaboration was necessary. Slowly Ash stood and walked back to his own work station to stare at the screen.

"So, what happens if we take out the chip?" the words were said cautiously as if Dante were unsure of whether or not to risk voicing it.

"We need to run some diagnostics… analyze exactly what it's affecting, see if it's permanently altered anything," Ash forced himself to say the last possibility and refused to elaborate on it even in his own mind. It wasn't the girls he was scared for now. They were the just the guinea pigs, the rough drafts. No, the fear beginning to surface in his mind was that they weren't alone. How far had Deering gotten? You can make the perfect housewife, maybe the perfect servants… what about perfect soldiers? Perfect assassins? Perfect spies? The possibilities were endless he realized with a sickening jolt.

Enough. This was a game, a computer game with high stakes, he reminded himself as he focused his mind back on the computer. Finish going through the records, analyze the code. All the answers would be there. They had to be- programs didn't write themselves.

"Call in everyone else, Dan. I want every line, every scrap of data off these files."

"Ahead of you, bro," Dante smirked gesturing to the cell phone already at his ear.

Haley slammed the door behind her, and stalked toward the door without once taking in her surroundings. She almost screamed when she heard someone clear their throat close behind her and spun to face the culprit, prepared to unleash the tirade she had kept from her cousin on the unlucky person's head. The hulking Neanderthals had too much stealth for their own damned good…

She tilted her head up to meet his dark eyes and took a quick step back, lowering her gaze to the floor, her shoulders falling slightly in an attitude of submission. "Good afternoon, Tank. Sorry I didn't see you," she offered apologetically, risking a quick glance back up at him.

Tank sighed, his face falling from amused to a concerned frown. "No you aren't. You were about to rip me a new one for sneaking up on you." She gasped, shocked, and her blue eyes were startled as they met his.

"I-I'm sorry you thought that. Only I just had… words… with Stephanie." And I'd never raise my voice to a man. The words were unsaid, and yet Tank could have sworn he heard them.

He looked sadly down at the girl in front of him and gently laid his hand on her shoulder. She'd be in tears thinking she'd made him mad if he didn't. Her eyes brightened at the gesture, her lips turned up a little, and the worry was gone as if it had never been there. He took a moment to search those bright blue eyes, so happy and eager to please. And after a moment he looked away, shaking his head a little to clear it. "Words with Stephanie? You mean a fight?"

Haley bit her lip and shifted her weight a little. "Well, not really. She's just been so mean and cold lately. To everyone," she added hastily, looking up at him for approval he supposed before she continued. "I only wanted her to stop it. She's making everyone so unhappy, hurting feelings… she's being inconsiderate," the last word were spoken with revulsion.

Tank cleared his throat and glanced out to the terrace. He was relieved to see that Stephanie was already gone. He really didn't want to deal with both of them at once. "Stephanie is going through a lot. She's having a hard time adjusting and remembering." He spoke seriously, hoping Haley would understand just how difficult it must be.

"I did it," she said dismissively. Tank shook his head. He had his doubts about that.

"You're different, Haley. You weren't-" he stopped, unsure of how to phrase it. She hadn't been made into something completely against her own nature? The processes hadn't worked on her? Tank looked again at the girl in front of him, so close and somehow so far. "You deal with things differently. Give Stephanie time."

Haley nodded dutifully, and swept a stay curl out of her eyes. "All right. Do you know what's for dinner? She said she wants to supervise Jean-Luc."

He blinked at the change of subject and shrugged. "It's his night off anyway. I think Bobby's on kitchen detail." She scrunched her nose at this news.

"All right. I better go tell him what to fix her or she won't eat again."

Tank nodded and didn't offer a comment. Stephanie's finicky tastes were still new and a little too weird for him to deal with after her formerly legendary appetite. Fortunately he was spared yet another tallying of the unsettling changes by the sudden electronic jangle of the Indiana Jones theme song. He paused long enough to check the number before he flipped it open. "Talk… I'll get Bobby…. We'll be there in ten."

Ranger had barely settled into the Jeep when a chorus of electronic 'music' began to play. He glanced at his companions, who were all reaching for their own phones as he flipped his open. "Yo… Just landed… We'll be there in fifteen."

He shifted the vehicle into gear and nearly flew out of the parking lot. Island traffic was a bitch this time of day, he reminded himself bitterly as he swerved around an errant goat.


End file.
